


Unfading Joy and Sorrow

by PeaceLoveAmarantha



Category: Twilight (Movies), Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Blood Kink, Drinking, F/M, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Mental Health Issues, Multi, Original Character(s), Recreational Drug Use, Smoking, Vampires, plus sized character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:48:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 47,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26089681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeaceLoveAmarantha/pseuds/PeaceLoveAmarantha
Summary: Amarantha is just barely holding on. Every punch life has thrown her way has hit its mark knocking her down. Three men enter her life at the worst moment claiming ownership over her. What's a plus sized, independent woman to do?
Relationships: Aro (Twilight)/Caius (Twilight)/Marcus (Twilight)/Original Female Character(s), Aro (Twilight)/Original Female Character(s), Caius (Twilight)/Original Female Character(s), Marcus (Twilight)/Original Female Character(s), Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Comments: 25
Kudos: 121





	1. The Beginning

Hazel blue eyes jutted around unsure where she had just awakened. Looking around she was surrounded by shelves upon shelves all lined with tomes. There seemed to be so many in fact that this place required multiple levels. Her brows pinched in confusion.

'Why am I in a library,' her mind wandered as she continued taking in the details of the enormous room she found herself in. The ground was marbled like the walls. Paintings hung on the walls in the free spaces on the walls that she couldn't make out. Vases and statues sporadically placed gave the impression that whoever owned this place had wealth.

Her gaze slowly focused on the center of the room seeing a large ornate rug with an antique chaise lounge and two matching arm chairs placed around a large coffee table. Her pale eyes zeroed in on the chair nearest to her to find it occupied by a large figure.

Curious as a cat, she crept forward staying as silent as she could with her bare feet on the chilled floor. The more she drew nearer the more detail of the person she could process in the low light of the room. It was a male with flowing raven colored hair. His skin was so pale it was almost see through.

'And I thought I was pale,' she thought. Her skin was close to the color of paper and was blinding when in the sun, which she rarely ever did.

This young looking man appeared to be in agony with his shoulders hunched and head bowed in defeat. 'What had caused this feeling?' The pang in her heart had her forget about her attempt in being stealthy. Approaching him the thought of turning around and running in the other direction crossed her mind for the uncertainty in her gut began to make itself known. That didn't stop her. No, acting uncharacteristic she reached out to touch the man on his shoulder trying to comfort him in some way.

As soon as the weight of her hand was placed on him, his face shot up and his strikingly red colored eyes bore into blue. The intake of her breath was audible when she saw the man's chiseled god-like features. His age appeared between nineteen, maybe twenty. Other than the odd colored eyes he appeared normal.

'Contacts, right? Hell, I've worn colored contacts before,' her mind rationalizing considering her own alternative lifestyle. 'Though in 2006 contacts were pretty expensive if this was the man's house he was probably more than capable of affording them.' Returning to the present moment with a twitch of her head.

“Are you okay,” her voice filled with concern for the sorrow filled male, knowing well enough how despair felt especially with all the things life had thrown her way as of late.

The milky red eyes that had been focused on her face glazed over for just a moment before returning to focus. Pain that once emitted from his eyes was replaced by, 'Could that be joy,' mind echoing as she lost her being inside the depth of his orbs. His toned arms wrap around her scantily clad body pulling her onto his lap. Her being enveloped by this stranger set alarm bells off. 'I shouldn't be here,' her qualms quietened when the young man started speaking.

“What took you so long,” a deep velvety tone caressed her ears causing a shiver to run down her spine. His hands were roaming over top the two sizes to big shirt she slept in. Her mind though hazy could only think one thing, 'I need to get out of his embrace, but it feels so right.'

Brows creased once again, she finds her voice, “Huh?”

“Where have you been all my life,” his head buried between my head and shoulders, placing light pecks on her neck.

Mind almost blank from the intense amount of desire that pumped through her veins, she said the only place that immediately came to mind, “Texas.” It wasn't where she currently live, but being that she was born and raised and held so many memories, especially with what happened there recently, it was the first to mind.

“How did you manage your way past the guards, cara mia,” his voice soft and full of curiosity.

“G-guards,” her's breaking.

The anxiety of ongoing events tore through the lust filled haze she was under. 'I'm not supposed to be here.' Big brain trying to remember where she had been before her eyes opened in this room. 'Come on, Amarantha, think!'

The mysterious man's hand raised her chin to be level with his, “It matters not,” face drawing nearer to hers, “I've got you now.” Right as his lips pressed against hers the electric jolt that coursed through her caused herself to be pulled away.

**March 2 nd, 2006**

Slowly shifting her body she felt the familiar plushy top of her mattress underneath. Panting from the overbearing emotions that she still felt from her dream, she laid there staring up at the ceiling. 'What the fuck is wrong with me,' feeling guilty for having a happy dream for once. Don't get her wrong she enjoyed having pleasant dreams and more often than not she had nightmares. You'd think she'd be grateful for such a lovely dream, but it was the complete opposite.

It's only been little over a month since her father passed and her already overactive emotions have become turbulent. Her normally reacquiring depression was multiplied by ten and her ever flipping emotions had become more frequent. The constant roller coast she'd been riding had taken its toll on her. The bags under her eyes where a permanent part of her face, she was convinced and her sleeping hadn't been as restful as of late. So in her opinion now wasn't the time to be having dreams about overly handsome strange men.

With a sigh she fumbled around for her glasses on the nightstand and placed them on her oval shaped face before rising out of the queen sized bed. Her feet touched the linoleum floor of the two bed, one bath trailer she rented. Simultaneously stretching and yawning before she adventured to the restroom. She flipped the switch to the overhead, illuminating the tub shower combo, porcelain toilet and counter topped sink with make up littered everywhere.

She glanced in the mirror and grimaced at her appearance. The normally wavy hair was matted from the previous days teasing, residual makeup left on her pierced face smudge everywhere. Taking a comb on the counter top she spent a good twenty minutes undoing the back combing she had done. Losing only one or two strands of her split dyed hair when complete she began to strip the over-sized shirt and granny panties from her plus-sized body.

Looking at herself once more she stared at her well endowed chest with pierced rosy pink nipples before lowering over her high waist to her stomach that slightly bulged, from her groomed fat peach and to the thick thighs scattered with scars and tattoos over them trying to cover up her past. Turning to the side she looked at the healed wounds of the most recent tattoo before drifting down to her rounded backside.

She knew fully well that she was fat, but in her words she described herself as 'pleasantly plump.' Shrugging her broad shoulders she decided to trim both sides of her removing the new growth of hair from blocking the geometric tattoos from view. She left her long sideburns alone as always. Satisfied, leaving the hair in the sink, the 5 ft. 6 in. woman stepped into the shower and turned the knobs. She proceeded to wash her hair and body ridding it of the previous day's grime and little hair particles. The smell of her apple scented hair products and pomegranate body wash perfumed the bathrooms air.

Out of the shower she towel dried herself after having wrapped her black and red hair up keeping the rest of her massive mane out of the way. While naked she applied lotion all over her skin making sure to rub it in considering most of her skin was covered in ink and needed to be maintained. Once her body was moisturized she put some face cream to prepare her skin for the thick layer of makeup she generally wore.

Exiting the bathroom she crossed the small distance over to her laundry room to slip on her black push up bra and matching underwear. Today was a dress up day which required many layers of feel good items starting off with under clothes. Privates covered to the world she headed back to her bedroom to stand in front of her closet.

'Now which dress do I want to where,' she debated between going for 1950's pinup or the traditional multilayered black ensemble she went with she decided on the former. Stepping out of her comfort zone just barely by it being a white polka dotted on black dress with a halterneck strap, red seams over the bust for shaping, waistband with red piping in its seams, five red buttons on the center front bodice, and a full circle skirt with a long black petticoat underneath.

She slipped the dress on over her towel wrapped head after stepping into sheer black hosiery. Her arms struggled with the back zipper of the dress, but with some awkward positioning had managed to do so. Finally clothed she grabbed her robe and placed it over her dress. She walked to her kitchen slash living room to grab her pack of cigarettes and litter before heading to the back door of the trailer.

Stepping out in the frigid air of the Olympic peninsula she opened her pack taking one out. Placing it to her lips she sparked her lighter, holding it to the end of the cigarette and slowly puffed on it to light. Releasing the first long drag she took her mind went off into recent memories.

**January 30 th, 2006**

The bulky flip phone she kept near her while she working in her make shift studio started to ring. If the vibration wasn't on she would have never known she had a phone call with the heavy, industrial metal sound of Rammstein blaring through the CD player's speakers. Seeing the name of her sister on the screen caused her to pause a moment.

The last time they had spoke was a month ago when she said that our father's health had taken a dive, but was stable. He'd been suffering from a myriad of health problems ranging from diabetes to congestive heart failure with a sprinkle of Alzheimer's. Life had been hard trying to be a caregiver to their sick father especially when “she didn't look how a southern lady should,” his words not her own.

His disapproval of her choices were always voiced anytime he'd see her. The things he'd say would always destroy the little girl inside her that loved her father very much and wanted to help. His words cut deep more often than not which had her already unstable psyche to become unhinged, which in the end helped her. She went on to get help for herself and had been doing so for three years now.

She knew that this wasn't her father anymore. The man she knew was kind and selfless. Maybe not always understanding why things happened but always accepting. He was a dad that didn't have to be. Her sister and her were his grandchildren from his only daughter, who left them at a young age. But that hadn't matter to him and his late wife having raised them as their own.

So it became an internal struggle for Amara when it came down to staying to help take care of their dad and risk loosing her battle with mental health or to move away and focus on taking care of herself. For once in her life, she had decided to be selfish and live her life. Where her sister, Jasmine, being the strong one, stayed and has been taking care of him by herself for two years now.

She turned the music off and answered, “Hey, what's up?”

“Are you sitting down,” came the stoic voice of Jasmine.

“Yes,” Amara's heart began to pick up pass upon hearing the little sniffles her sister had through the receiver. This meant that this wasn't going to be good.

“Its dad. I think you need to get down here as soon as possible, Ami,” hearing her sister inhale a shaky breath, “He had a stroke last night and the doctors say he won't recover from this one.”

Heart dropping into her gut that felt punched, tears immediately started to leak from her eyes. 'Dad,' her only thought. “I'll book the first flight out.”

No words of comfort passed through either sister as they knew nothing could be said at this moment to help. The only thing that would, would be when she finally landed there in Texas. Her heart broke for her sister. Jasmine had to grow up at a very young age to raise her when their non biological mother past away. Amara hadn't always viewed her sister with high regards till she grew older seeing everything Jasmine sacrificed for her to have as good of a childhood as she could. Even after Amara grew up, when Jasmine could finally be free to do what she wanted she sacrificed her freedom again to be the sole caregiver of their dad. Now her sister would be alone on the family's ranch, maybe finally able to live for herself.

Amarantha vowed she would be there for her sister through the whole funeral process and help her grieve was best as she could. Even if it meant she would have to move back. She'd do anything.

**March 2** **nd** **, 2006**

Returning from her memory with the cigarette burnt out, she tossed it in the old coffee can she used to keep the butts. Walking into the warm trailer she took a quick glance at the time and saw that she had more than enough time to do her over exaggerated makeup and hair. With a thick coat off white foundation, drawn in black eyebrows, a black and red cut-crease, winged out eye look and vibrant red lips applied she focused on drying her still wet hair.

Massaging in a little mousse she proceeded to blow dry her hair as the hair crimper she turned on heated. Once the hair was dry she sectioned out what hair she had and crimped each one. With some back coming and hair spray she was able to mold her hair into a barrel roll on top of her head.

Feeling completed in her look she hair sprayed her hair to her face to lock everything into place. Untying her robe, she hung it up behind the door, and made sure everything was off before closing it behind her. Looking amazing made her feel amazing even with all that had happened. It's been a long time since she finally felt an once of happiness and one part of her brain kept telling her it was to soon, to wallow in self pity.

'You sicken me. Already dressing up, being happy and its only been little over a month? Bleh no wonder no one wants you,' that bitch in her head sneered.

Amara bit her tongue, pain shooting to her brain, quieting the voice for a mire moment. 'Nice try, sweet cheeks, but the only way to get rid of me is to die,' the voice cackled, 'You die, I die because I am you, you dummy.'

Within two steps Amara reached the kitchen counter that had her pills on it. Picking up the pill organizer she noticed she forgot to take last nights medication. “No wonder I'm hearing you,” she voiced allowed to the empty trailer.

'Oh come on, you really think this medication is helping you? You were doing so much better without it. I swear you can do it without anything if you tried,' the sickness with in her mind goaded.

“Never again,” she spoke taking the pills with a bottle of water she kept near.

In an instant, that part of her was silent and she continued her morning with coffee, food and another smoke break before heading to her second bedroom turned art studio.

Her hosed feet glided over the smooth surface as she entered the room almost slipping. Catching herself before landing on her fat ass she straightened up and walked carefully to the desk covered in sketches. Picking up her three latest drawings she placed them in her plastic accordion folder under the tab marked clients.

She picked up her mess from the previous night, replacing a black bounded book on one of the four bookshelves she had lining the walls, and gathering the trash. With empty wine bottles and discarded wrappers in hand she left the space to throw everything away, returning shortly to grab the folder.

Closing the door to her safe haven upon leaving it she placed her folder by her backpack that she used as a purse. Checking the time once more she almost cursed. The time was thirty minutes till three with meant she needed to leave then.

Rushing to her room she slide her feet into a pair of red kitten heels and her long black trench coat over her arms. Briskly walking back to her kitchen table she put all of her essential items for work, including the folder cigarettes and leftovers, in the backpack and placed it over her shoulders. With keys and umbrella in hand she headed out the front door, locking the bottom and top locks behind her.

Thankful the rain had subsided she slow but steadily walked to her '03 Pathfinder, unlocking the vehicle she nick-named Ol' Betsie. Placing the bag gently in the seat next to her she started the car and headed to work.

**3:15 pm**

Pulling into the parking lot of the only tattoo parlor in Forks, located on its outskirts. Amara drove her car to her usual space in the back, parked and got out. Her brisk footsteps with bag and umbrella in her hands, she made it inside the building before the clouds let loose a bone chilling rain.

The sterile scent of the parlor greeted her along with the bright florescent lighting. A quick scan of the room, she noticed the shop owner and close friend, Luke Uley, wasn't back here. 'Must be busy up front.' Gliding over to her corner of the backroom, close to the door leading to the front, she placed her bag on the smooth table surface.

Grabbing her items that she'd need out of the worn canvas bag, she placed it on the back of the chair she sat in when not at her work station. She took her lunch and placed it in the refrigerator that stood next to the microwave and a kitchen sink. The sound of rock music was heard a brief moment when door to the front part of the shop swung open.

“How's my favorite artist doing today,” the cheerful brass voice of Luke boomed.

“Pfft, favorite artist.. I'm your only artist, Sweet Cheeks,” the eye roll heard in her unenthusiastic sarcasm.

“Ouch, Ami,” his hand went over his heart feigning to be crushed, “you wound me. Wake up on the wrong side of the coffin again?”

His light tease made the smallest of smiles crack her mask before she wiped it away. Turning toward Luke, she walked up to him slow and sensual. Stopping in front of the 6 ft. man she raised to his ear to whisper, “You and I both know I don't sleep in a coffin.”

She bit the lobe of his ear gently before quickly side stepping the bulk of a man. Dancing away from his meaty arms that tried to wrap themselves around her. Though the pair had spent a few nights in each others company they remained only friends, really good friends. Each knew they weren't exactly what the other wanted, but still cared for each other the same.

“Dammit Amarantha,” he growled, “You know how I am abut my ears.”

She could only smirk at him from over at the table where her folder laid. Picking the half filled portfolio and pulled out the three sketches she's done early that week. Each sketch had a similarities according to what my client had wanted. Him being one of my most loyal customers made this piece very important. He was getting a tattoo in memory of his mother he lost the year prier.

The first design was of her favorite flowers accompanied with hummingbirds that happened to be a favorite of hers as well. The second was more like a painting consisting of a wooded scene filled with colorful flowers and life. The final wasn't exactly what he had requested. It was a design she took liberty with. It was a white tea cup with blue lacing detail and a hummingbird perched upon the lip, remembering the times he talked about his mothers love of a cup of tea and watching the birds play on her porch. Each piece incorporated her birth and death date to forever be remembered, at least by her son.

Being absorbed in her sketches, she didn't notice Luke's presence behind her till his overly warm arms hugged her from behind. “Are these for Aaron?”

“Yeah,” her only reply.

“They each look really good, Ami. I'm sure he'll have a hard time choosing,” Luke, as always, being enthusiastic.

Amara shook her head, her mind telling her, like normal, that she could have done better. The strive for perfection was a constant battle for her. The lowering her standards necessary or she'd never be happy, but when it came to what she was passionate about, which was her work, her standards where doubled. She would never settle for anything less when it came to permanently coloring onto someone's body.

“I don't know,” sounding unsure, “I always feel like I'm missing something.”

She was quickly spun around to face the warm chocolate eyes Luke possessed, to bore into her own blue ones. “Amarantha, you need to get your confidence back. These,” pointing down to the pictures in her hands, “are perfect.”

'No they're not,' echoed with in her mind.

Glancing through the papers once more, she released a sigh, “I wish I saw what you see.”

There was a comfortable silence that enveloped the two adults. One russet in color, the other gravely pale. The lack of conversation didn't last long. The huff of a breath from the older male broke the silence.

“You know I understand if you need more time, Amarantha. Its only been a few days since you've been back..”

Cutting Luke off, “I need my routine back. I need normalcy.”

“You need to come back when you're ready.”

“But I am,” her southern drawl peaking out the more the building emotions she tried to bury resurface, “I cain't just sit 'round and do nothin'. I ain't my eleven year old self who was lost. Imma twenty-three year old woman just tryin' to make it.”

“And you think its best to just pretend nothing happened,” his concerned question made her heart ache.

“I ain't pretending nothin'. He's gone, Luke, he's been gone for years. I've done my grievin' then. Now its time I move forward.”

“What about Jasmine?”

“I,” 'miss her' pausing before murmuring, “I haven't spoken to her since I left.”

“Amara..”

It's not like she didn't want to speak to her sister. The argument they had before Amara stormed out of their family's country home, leaving her sister and state behind. It only happening a few days ago that had the memory freshly on repeat in her mind. Hurtful words had been said, though said while in an overly emotional state and each regretting have said them, drove the two sisters further apart. A tear slid down her left cheek thinking about Jasmine's last words to her. _“Don't you ever come back. Know that you're unwelcome here and won't be let in. The lawyers will send you what dad left you. From this moment onward you're nothing to me.”_

“Look we've grown apart in more ways than one. Don't get me wrong, we'll always be sisters and I love her, but I can't be in her life when she can't except me and my choices,” finally calming down enough to attempt to re-control the southern twain, fibbing to her friend.

Turning away from the man that could read her like a book, she sat the sheets of paper on the surface so she could grab a cigarette from her bag. “I'm going outside.”

“You know you should really try quitting, right,” his face no longer happy, but burdened.

She grabbed the umbrella she brought with her before walking out of his grasp with ease muttering, “Yeah, yeah,” on her way outside.

She opened the umbrella quickly to protect herself from getting wet, thankful for not taking off her coat. The pitter patter of the rain hitting the pavement was music to her ears. The need for fresh air had been of great importance to Amara, as the feeling of utter loneliness consumed her heart.

Of course she knew she had friends, that were few and far between, but she no longer had family. Family mattered a great deal to her which was why she had planned to move back. Arriving home she had hoped Jasmine and her could reconnect and become the best of friends, like the old days. What greeted her was bitter resentment from the time she had lived away.

'Everything will be okay,' she tried reassuring herself while shakily smoking.

'Why lie to yourself,' came that voice.

Not this part of her again. 'Why did I have to be born with a chemical imbalance,' woefully thought knowing that there's no answer.

'Just lucky, I guess,' cackled the voice.

'I won't let you have power over me, again. You just end up hurting us in the end,' standing her ground to herself. She will not let the sickness take her mind. Every time she had she ended up in life threatening situations caused by it. The recklessness, sleepless nights, flipping emotions on a dime (which lets be honest has been harder to control the last month), were all things she didn't need right now.

'No matter the amount of medication, therapy, or self help you do, I'll always be here. Waiting for you to slip.'

A shiver shot down her spine from her own minds promise. Finishing off her smoke with on last drag she, irresponsibly, tossed the butt on the ground and headed back into the dry environment.

“Done killing yourself?”

Looking up from the ground, Embry Call, Luke's annoying cousin, was standing in the middle of the room. “Oh ain't I just lucky to be graced by your presence,” Amara's head tilting to one side staring the kid down. It had been well over a month since she last saw the bugger and he had changed. No longer was there an average looking teen, he looked as if he lived only at the gym.

“Man, Luke wasn't lying when he said to tip toe around you.”

“What's that suppose to mean,” her eyes narrowed, hurting silently behind the mask.

The teen shrugged is shoulders, “I don't know, maybe that you're in a mood?”

Setting the umbrella at the door, she made her way toward her table. Huffing, “I'm not in a mood. Where's your cousin anyways?”

“Uh-uh, sure,” sounding unconvinced, “He's in the restroom.”

Amara closed her eyes and took a deep breath before sighing, “I'm sorry for coming off moody. Its been a long month, Em. How've you been? Last I remember you had the flu really bad.”

His demeanor changed from relaxed to tense in second, “I'm g-good. Got over it pretty quick.”

“You know there's such a thing as to much gym time, right?”

“What,” he smiled brightly, “Oh do you mean these.” He flexed his muscles in an attempt to impress her. All she could do was scoff at his show of masculinity. The little dork always had the personality of a goofball, even with his new found bulk it peaked through.

“Yeah, why don't you put those away before you hurt someone,” Amara humored, “Cool down on the protein shakes. They're making you more of a meathead, Meathead.”

“I'm not a meathead, Bat brain.”

“You know what, I ain't offended,” she said with a smile. Man did she miss being around people she liked and vice versa.

The chime of the front door opening alerted the duo of someone coming in. With a, “Be right back,” Amara passed through the swinging door.

“Amara, I'm so glad you're back,” Aaron, my client, stood near the counter at the front entrance. His graying red hair swept back, his rugged, thick beard and startling green eyes made her almost swoon every time she met with the older gentleman.

“Aaron, one of my favorite canvas, its good to be back,” she walked over to him and gave a side hug to him.

“How are you holding up,” came his gravely voice.

“I'm good, good. I'm fine, just fine,” hoping if she repeated it enough maybe she'd even by her own lie. “Let me get you started on this lovely paper work and I'll go get what I've drawn.”

She walked around the counter and grabbed one of the forms clients generally had to fill out. Placing it and a pen in front of where he moved to, Amara left him to complete the short sheet. The click of her heels on the tiled floor announced her arrival in the backroom were Luke and Embry seemed to have been discussing something important. Each quickly stopped and looked her way as if to question why she would intrude. Sliding off her coat she tossed it over her chair when she approached her area.

“Aaron's here. Just gonna grab these,” she said as her hands lifted the three sketches. 'Note to self. Be nosy and ask Luke what that was about.'

Returning to the front, Aaron let out a whistle, “Damn. I'm defiantly glad you're my artist and not Luke. He'd never look as good in a dress.”

Amara chortled, “Well ain't you a flatterer.”

Behind the counter once more, she handed the man the papers as she took his filled out form and ID he already had out. Copying the license on the back she one word, “Wow.”

Amara couldn't help but bite her lip near her spider bites. 'Please be a good wow, please be a go-.'

“This is it,” she spun around with the form, license copied on the back, and ID in her other manicured hand to look at Aaron as he spoke, “You captured her. How'd you know she loved tea?”

He had chosen the third design that she had been worried that he'd hate. Releasing her lip, “I remember you mentioning it a time or two. Is there anything you like to add or change?”

His eyes lifted off the paper, a smile of gratitude wide across his round face before shaking his head, “I appreciate you listening to this old man ramble about his mother.”

Rolling her eyes, “You're not that old, Aaron.”

“I feel it,” he paused briefly almost hesitant to ask, “How much to buy the two other designs from you?”

Amara's eyebrows rose, not expecting him to ask to by her art work. “Nothing you can have them. They're meant for you anyways.”

His eyes roamed over her face, “You've got to be the most benevolent person I know.”

She stood there under his praising stare awkwardly shifting side to side. She never knew how to take complements especially ones she didn't believe. Resorting to humor as her defense, “Now you're bein' full of it. I'm quite the opposite. Now are we set on the colors I have there or do you want to change them?”

Her effort to change to subject worked for the time being as they discussed the colors he wanted. Aaron handed her the one that he wanted keeping the other two. She had him sit in on of the waiting chairs before excusing herself to transfer the design to a stencil.

Up front once more she place the stencil down on her work stations desk. She turn and set up the chair in the position for this tattoo she was about to do. Calling Aaron over she sanitized the chair and work surfaces in front of him before having him to take over the chair. While he got comfortable after taking his jacket and shirt off, she gathered the rest of her supplies.

Looking at his back though she saw no hair shaved over is right shoulder. She placed the stencil and had him take a look at it in one of the many mirrors in the parlor. He gave the thumbs up to proceed and with out hesitation she became engrossed in her art. It wasn't till two hours passed that her concentration broke when completing the tattoo.

Aaron stood in the mirror in awe of the newest addition to his plethora of tattoos. “It's so nice when someone is so passionate about what they do,” Aaron's voice tender, “You really are an amazing artist.”

Amara paused in her movements of cleaning her station. 'Why is he being so complement-y,' Amara couldn't help but wonder. Feeling uneasy, “I, uh thanks.”

Aaron walked over to her, “Want a picture like usual?”

Shaking her head she almost kicked herself for forgetting. She had a book of every tattoo she's done, not just so people could see her work, but for her to see her progress and admire them. A digital camera in hand she took a few pictures of the freshly tatted skin. Taping cling wrap around the tattoo, “Thank you for reminding me.”

“No problem,” Aaron replied as he slide his shirt and then jacket on.

He stood close to her, “You know you don't have to lie to me.”

“What,” her face contorted in confusion.

“It's okay to not be fine,” his statement simple, but reassuring. “You of all people should know that I know what its like to loose a parent.”

Amara didn't know what to say. If anything she felt like sinking into a dark hole, far away from here and this conversation. Her eyes that had lowered to the floor slowly lifted from the black and white checkered pattern to land on his. All she could do was give a curt nod in understanding not wanting to let him in. 'The more people let in the more pain that could happen,' thought her guarded, not entirely rational, mind.

“Let me take you out to dinner sometime,” Aaron sort of blurred out, quickly adding, “Let's get you out of the dark place I see you going.”

Butterflies turning to snakes, raged a war inside her gut. Chewing upon her lip, “I can't. Its to soon.”

“Don't stop yourself from living, Amara,” he step closer in her direction.

“I don't date clients,” her next excuse rapidly said, trying anyway to get out of this.

A smirk closed the man's barely worn face. “So what that mean's I'd have to settle for Luke in a dress instead of you, in order for you to have dinner with me?”

'You can't do this,' crept the voice from the depths of her mind.

'Yes you can. Give Aaron a chance,' the other side waged.

'No, Amarantha, you really can't do this,' the voice becoming panicked, 'It doesn't feel right.'

'Why should I listen to you? Every time I do I make the wrong decision.'

'I can't give you a reason other than don't agree to it. Trust me for once in your damned life,' what most people would consider being their consciences, she considered her demon, said.

“One dinner,” Amara answered going against what her mind told her to do. The uneasiness from early morphed in to dread immediately upon giving her answer. 'Maybe I shouldn't ha-'

His chest seemed to puff up in pride. “Good, that's great. When's a good time for you?”

'Never..' “How about the fifth? Sundays are my normal days off,” Amara rocked on her feet unable to stand still.

“Okay, six sound good to you,” he inquired.

With a nod of her head, he paid her for the tattoo leaving her a generous tip, and turned to leave. “Is there a dress code,” Amara called to him before he exited.

His heated gaze landed on her full figure, “Just be you. I'm sure you'll look beautiful in whatever you decide to wear.”

With that said she was alone in the front left to her own mortified thoughts of going on a date when she was so mentally screw at the moment. “This isn't going to end well,” she spoke to herself.

'We agree on one thing for once,' came a sarcastic reply.

'Fucking go away,' Amara screamed internally.

Station cleaned and ready for anyone that happened to walk-in, she headed to the back room. Finding it empty she decided now would be the best time for her to take a quick break. With her coat on, cancer stick, lighter and umbrella in hand she head outside through the front of the shop.

She smoked off to the side of the entrance standing down wind so as the smoke didn't blow right in front of the doors. She messed up with agreeing on to go on a date and she knew that. There was no way she was emotionally ready to build a healthy relationship right now. It all just seemed off.

Butt place in the can that was next to the door she walked to the back to heat up her left overs from last night. “Is that curry I smell,” Luke's voice startling her as he entered through the back door.

“Yeah, it is. I brought enough for two if you'd like some,” she offered.

“You know I'll never pass up the chance for your cooking,” she returned his infectious grin and took out two plates from the wall hanging cabinet.

Each plate had a healthy portion of curry as she handed him his, fork already on the plate. He moaned in pleasure as he at the first bite, releasing small grunts afterwards as he stuff his mouth, all while she ate in a slowed silent manner. Stomach turning with each bite. Don't get her wrong she loved her food, but she had been having to force herself to eat the past few weeks.

Choking down a few bites she was already done trying to eat and offered the rest of her helping to the ravenous looking male across from her. “Are you sure,” his brows pinched.

“Yeah, just full,” lying a second time to her friend.

He only shrugged before diving right in. Finishing both plates in under ten minutes caused Amara to worry he would choke. She grabbed both plates and utensils before he could and went to wash each a long with the dish she brought the food in.

“So, where'd you go,” she asked, backed turned from him.

Luke's warm eyes pierced through her back, “Just had an accident. Needed to change my clothes.”

Placing each dish back where she got them after drying them she turned to face him. “These accidents happened quite a lot before I left. They still goin' on,” her arms crossed over her chest, as she examined him.

Luke had changed quite a bit over this last year. Having worked for him for three years she was able to pin point every change. Hell they've slept together, she knows of the birthmark in the shape of Florida on is left ass cheek. He use to be a little lanky and closer to her height maybe two or so inches taller. Ever since September last year, he went through an extremely late growth spur, considering he'd be twenty-seven this year, and began to work out at all times of the day. Or at least that's what he has been telling her.

She had kept her mouth shut about his change in appearance because she just figure it was a self image kind of thing. She couldn't explain the height thing but everything else she could. Now his 'accidents' as he likes to claim, happened quite frequently over four months. She couldn't a test to last month because she hadn't been there. Now Embry seemed to be following in Luke's steps in the appearance change, but he was a teen so it made sense.

“Just something I ate,” his poker face in place.

'Bullshit,' she thought as she mean mugged him. “Ever since the Cullen's left and you went to help find the Chiefs daughter you've changed and been actin' strange.”

Luke stood up defensively, “I honestly don't know what you're talking about.”

“Now yer lyin' to me,” struggling the more upset she became with the thought of him hiding something from her.

“Like you haven't been lying to me all day. Saying you're fine,” his voice serious, “you're clearly not fine. I can see the bags under your eyes, have you been sleeping, taking your meds? I think you're seeing shit that's not there.”

Now he offended her. There were times she had listened to the voice in her head and believed she could live life without medication. Its why she had been mad at herself for skipping last nights dosage. She needed routine and order and the last few months have been the opposite of that.

She had told him all the knitty, gritty details of what she's suffered from and he just through it in her face. 'This is why we shouldn't let people in.'

Unable to look at the man anymore, she sneered, “I've been taking my pills, thanks. I know I'm not crazy.. at least I think. You know me and when I'm bullshitin' and vice versa. Hell you even read through my shit today,” sighing, head bowed, “You've been hidin' somethin' for months and I've ignored it. Its gettin' to a point I cain't bit my tongue no more.”

She ended without breath having to breathe heavily to regain it. The emotional toll that she'd been going through finally on the cusp of breaking her. When it became clear that he wasn't going to say anything she made her move to gather her things. The urge to run away to her home being strong.

Bag packed, umbrella in hand she stopped the briefest of moments. “Never have I felt so,” taking in a shaky breath, “I'm going home. I'll see ya later.”

He didn't have a chance to stop her for she quickly exited the building and ran to her SUV. Hoping in out of the rain, Amara placed her back in the passenger seat, started the vehicle, and without thought, pulled out and sped home.

**7:18**

Parking in front of her trailer she released the iron grip she had on the stirring wheel. A tear slide down her cheek which she quickly wiped away, not caring if it ruined her foundation. Taking what she needed out of the car she exited and lock it. Briskly she headed up to her front door, unlocked and entered within less than a minute.

As soon as the locks were engaged her forehead rested against the back of the door, letting the tears fall freely. At least she could break down in her own home, where she didn't have to worry what others thought. She left her entry way sniffling and blurry eyed to go to the bathroom. There she rid her face of any makeup and released her teased her from the mountain of bobby pins that held it together. Crying through the whole process of undoing the tangles she put in her hair.

She left the room with red, puffy eyes. She stripped out of her dress and bra, replacing them with a baggy shirt that reached mid-thigh. Stopping at her fridge she pulled out an unopened bottle of mead, having full intentions of drinking this and possibly the other bottle she had as well.

Open bottle in Amara's grasp she headed to the one place she knew could make her feel better. Illuminating the room with one flick of a switch she set her bottle on the cabinet next to her art desk. The black book she had placed on a shelf earlier was snatched up and with a flip opened the book to reveal the hollowed out inside.

She set the book down in order to grab out her stash jar and papers from inside. With experienced hands, she crushed the herb and rolled herself a decent sized joint. Replacing all the contents, but the joint back inside the book, she took a chug from the bottle next to her before sparking up. 'Anything to take the emotions away,' her mind reasoning.

She inhaled her first toke and held it till her lungs burned. Counting to till ten before releasing her held breath, a big cloud of smoke seeped from her lips. 'Inhale the good shit, exhale the bullshit,' she scoffed. Roaming around the room she found her favorite incense left on a bookshelf. Taking one out of the package she lit the end, letting its small flame burn till she was sure the stick was burning. Placing the incense in its holder on the same cabinet her wine had sat.

She turned the bright desk light on before having a seat in the comfortable rolling chair she bought for her work space. Another swig of the delicious honey wine and hit of green, she grabbed her book where she doodled in. She never would consider herself an artist even though she worked as a tattoo artists. Everyone else art, she felt, was better than she could ever do. She loved to draw and paint which is why she had an extra room. So no instead of artist she classified herself as a doodle-ist.

Opening to the first clean page, half-way through the pad, she just began to unwind and fiddle around on the page with the pen in her left hand. It wasn't till the joint was burnt out and mead drunk that her brain started to connect to what her hand did. Inked on the paper was the man from her dream looking as tortured on the white sheet as he did in her mind. At least on thing was certain in her life, she had an overactive imagination.

“If only men like you existed,” Amara sighed biting her lip as her inebriated brain started going down the gutter.

Turning off the lamp she got up with the empty bottle firmly grasped in her right hand. Her bare feet carried her out of the room, switching the light of as she went. Amara tossed the glass bottle in the trash that needed to be taken out. She shuffled across the chilled floor to her pills and took the nights dosage, not caring that she was intoxicated. Her world was a little wobbly as she went to grab a cigarette to smoke before bed.

Her alcohol warmed body stepped out in the icy spring night. Thankful for the covered back porch attached to the trailer for she'd be drenched by the sheets of rain. The cold being her preferred weather considering she was big and wore mainly black. The rain being her favorite because in Texas it rarely rained and rain made her feel at peace. She drew in a deep breath through her nose enjoying the smell of her current environment. The cold and the rain were reasons why she chose this place to live.

Feeling drowsy from the emotion roller coaster of the day and her medication, Amara finished smoking quickly and went back inside. She stumbled around making sure both doors were locked up tight and all lights were off. In her room she laid in bed with thoughts of being in that man's arms once more. Wanting to do anything to take away his pain. She feel asleep with _“What took you so long?”_ echoing around her dome.


	2. Another Day, Another Nickle

**March 2 nd, 2006**

This evening was just like any other for him, useless. Existing was painful and dull. Nothing had been able to shock him out of his despondent state, not since his wife died. With her gone he had become a shell of his former self. His nature once dominant, regal, and vibrant was now simply lifeless. His plea for his life to be ended always fell on the deaf ears of his brothers.

He found himself drowning in his misery in the library that he and his brothers filled with ancient tomes. They continued to add to it, but his contribution and enjoyment in reading had ended. Slouching in the currently dimly lit room his head hung low. He didn't know why he had felt the pull to be here instead of his rooms, but it didn't matter. His thoughts focused on wanting his suffering to end so maybe he could finally be with his beloved.

Those thoughts had distracted him to the point that he didn't notice the half clothed female directly in front of him or even hear her pounding heart. It wasn't till he felt the ghost of a hand on his shoulder that made him stiffen and raised his head immediately. His eyes must be deceiving him. What stood before him was a young woman with black and red matted hair top the her head, piercings scattering her face and ears, works of art and quotes etched in her visible skin, and her remarkable blue eyes with specks of green and silver were soul shattering.

“Are you okay,” her voice heavenly and heavy with an accent he wasn't accustomed to.

If his undead heart could beat he's sure it would be hammering away in his chest. Vision clouded over for a moment as he checked to see that he, along with two others, were connected to her. ' _Compagna'_ (mate) his soul roared. Without hesitation he pulled her into his lap and enclosed her thick, voluptuous body with his firm arms.

“What took you so long,” he nearly sobbed as he buried his face in the base of her neck inhaling her scent of apples, pomegranates and smoke. He could forever be lost in her. His hands slid over the thin material of the shirt she was wearing, desperately trying not to rip it from her. He needed to feel her delicate skin against his own.

“Huh?”

“Where have you been all my life,” he muttered as he placed feather-like kisses upon her warm, porcelain surface not obstructed by cloth. Just the taste of her against his lips pleased him in ways he hadn't experienced in years.

“Texas,” she answered as best she could given his continued salacious affections.

The ancient being almost felt giddy upon connecting where her accent was from. 'How did this wonderful creature find her way to me,' he asked himself. Having her in his arms felt to good to be true. Did anyone else know she was here? Did his brothers sense their mate within the walls of their palace. It was not essential right now.

His interests and concerns for his mate had him ask, “ How did you manage your way past the guards, _cara mia_ (my dear)?”

Her heart rate to which he didn't hear before then skyrocketed, “G-guards?”

However she got there he didn't care. His happiness was finally within his grasp. “It matters not,” he spoke as he lowered down to capture her pink lips, “I've got you now.”

As his icy lips connected with her heated ones, he could feel him and his inner beast sore above the clouds. He never wanted to forget the taste of her sinfully sweet lips, but unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Within the mere moments they shared a kiss, the delectable woman disappeared before him.

An agonized roar tore from his throat. 'Mate, where did she go,' his primitive like thoughts had him zoom around the room looking, sniffing, anything he could do to find her. 'Mate,' the beast enraged at being separated from her after waiting thousands of years to find her.

The doors to the opulent library burst open, revealing his personal guards, one a stocky man the other a lanky teenager, in the door way. Each held a stance ready to fight, fearing that their master had been attacked or worse did something to himself. They saw a beast in front of them ready to rip apart anything that got in it way.

“What have you done with her,” his roar filly with desperate fury, all logical reasoning out the window. In his mind they took her from him and he needed her back.

The cropped haired giant spoke, “Master, we don't know who you're talking about.”

Obviously not being the answer he wanted the predatory male, in a blink of an eye, had his right hand on the bulky man's throat with a crushingly tight grip. He slammed the man into the nearby bookcase and proceeded to snarl at him, venom spewing from his jowls. He was a second away from detaching the males head from his body when all of his senses were cut off.

Utter dark and deafness consumed him, unaware of the two speaking. “Felix go alert the other Masters,” the short, authoritative voice of the other guard spoke, though they were sure by now everyone in the castle heard the commotion.

The truffle haired boy focused his attention on his master attempting to keep the couple millennial old vampire from hurting anyone, let alone themselves. He understood not what tormented his master to lash out, and knew by subduing him, he would be punished for using his powers against the elder. As if no time passed at all in the doorway entered the guards' two other masters.

The slightly shorter than the two ordered, “Alec, release him.”

“Yes Master,” came the servant's reply.

The instant Alec's powers receded from him and he regained his sight and hearing, he crouched in a defensive manor, growling at his brothers and fellow coven mates. Eyes pitch black, ready to fight his way out of here to find her. “Where is she,” he spoke between clenched teeth.

“Marcus, I can't believe I'm saying this but calm yourself,” the animated voice of his brother tried reasoning with his brother, “Who is it that you seek?”

Marcus, unable to follow his brother with midnight long hair suggestion to calm down, began to stalk back and forth looking for a way around the four. He knew he'd have trouble getting away with Alec in the room under his brother's influence. His black eyes scanned his other, snow haired, brother who has been watching his every move, prepared to move when he does.

“Her,” his voice pained, “She was in my arms, brothers. Then she vanished.”

The eldest looking of the three finally spoke, “Aro, I think he's finally lost it.”

Another snarl released from Marcus' lips. He couldn't have imagined his mate being there. He felt her heated skin, felt her pulse beneath his lips, even tasted her honeyed ones. No, he couldn't have made her up. It had been real, her forbidden fruit like scent still perfumed the air. Glaring at the men he had spent most of his life with, “I have not lost it, Caius,” lifting his hand up, “Come and see for yourself, Aro.”

Now that caused the 5 ft. 10 in. man to pause, it had been centuries since Marcus had willingly offered his thoughts to be read. In front of his brother, Aro held on to his hand and dropped it almost instantly. His eyes wide and staring into Marcus', “ _Anima gemella.”_ (soulmate or twin soul)

Aro sniffed the air before him and picked out her scent. It was mouth watering, _mele e melograni_ (apples and pomegranates), he groaned. Opening his eyes he didn't realize he closed, he turned to Caius. “He is sane brother,” Aro turned to the two guards and dismissed them.

Continuing in a dialect practically dead to the world once they had left, “It seems our mate appeared before him and disappeared just as quickly.”

The fair haired leader's red eyes shifted between the two men muttering in disbelief, “Our mate?”

Marcus' aggressive deposition slowly began to fade, till Caius questioned, “Are you sure it was her?” That set him off after his brother, angered that he'd challenged the existence of their mate.

“Smell the air, Caius,” came the animated remark from Aro, “Just her scent alone calls to me.”

Caius became deathly still upon the intake of the succulent fruity smell. He understood what his brother meant. He took another unneeded breath to commit it to memory. He, like, Aro and Marcus, would require her to be found promptly. The thoughts of anyone finding her first entered his mind causing his chest to rumble.

“Call Demetri,” the exquisite middle aged looking man grunted, “She needs to be found before our enemies know of her.”

Each leader of the clan nodded in agreement, their minds centered on her. Caius' intrigue had him inquire as to what she looked like. He being the odd one out without a gift of mind reading or having been lucky to be the one she ran into.

“Very unconventional,” Aro put simply smirking at Marcus' memory of the tantalizing creature in his lap, wishing it were Aro's lap she had been in. Aro called their best tracker to the room.

Demetri appeared promptly, bowing to the three coven leaders in his soft greeting, “Masters.”

Aro taking the lead as per usual, “We need you to find a woman. The unfamiliar scent and that she is from Texas is all we know. I trust that is more than enough for you to go on.”

The lean man nodded his head inhaling multiple times he ingrained the scent to his memory and set off to complete his new mission. The three men looked between each other, each bewildered. Who would have thought that fate decided to further tie each of them together by them having to share their mate.

Aro cracked an erratic grin, being on to break the silence that fell upon them, almost sounding manic, “Now we prepare and wait.”

**March 3 rd, 2006**

Amara's eyes shifted under her lidded eyes, feeling drool on her pillow and crusted on the side of her face. She sat up groggily wiping her face with the back of her hand and slowly opened her eyes. She squinted dew to the amount of light that filled the room. 'Must be a sunny day,' she thought sadly. She and the sun enemies.

She had her usual stretch attack and releasing of a yawn. A smile greeted her face afterwards for having a restful, dreamless night's sleep. Standing on her feet she zombie walked to the bathroom forgetting her glasses. Not bothering to turn on a light she relieved her bladder, washed her hands, brushed her teeth with the tooth brush she didn't keep in the shower, and washed and moisturized her face.

Detouring to grab her glasses she went to her kitchen to brew a cup of coffee for her aching head. One day she wouldn't drink so much but that day wasn't in the near future. While waiting for the pot to finish, she began to wash her sink full of dishes and straighten up the mess she always seemed to leave in her wake.

The trailer cleaner than it was when she poured herself a cup of coffee adding creamer and a little sugar. She took her cup of hot liquid outside with her as she smoked her morning cigarette at one thirty in the afternoon. Sipping on her drink and taking long slow drags, she relaxed enjoying what was her morning. The anxieties of the days prior in the very back recesses of her mind. It didn't take long for her first cup to be drunk and the cigarette to turn into ash.

Heading inside, she refilled her cup with the rest of what sat in the pot and went to get ready for the, hopefully, normal Friday. 'But Luke,' her mind tried pushing to the front of her mind. “No,” she spoke, she will not let herself to think about that right now. She was in a good, stable mood. Why ruin it just yet? In her bedroom, she tugged on some sheer ripped tights to go under the black overall skirt she decided to wear. 

Accompanying it with a black tank-top and purposefully ripped band shirt tucked in and underneath the straps of the skirt. Jamming her legs one by one into the knee high black combat boots she thought would go well with her outfit.

Feeling particularly in a mood to go overboard, Amara reentered her bathroom, turning the light on this time and pulled out the bag she kept her body jewelry in. She felt like today she'd wear her black pieces, so she set forth in removing her piercings and replacing them. She adorned her neck with a spiky collar and a couple of dangling necklaces with metal skeleton body parts.

After accomplishing the task of accessorizing, she parted her hair in half using the two different colors as a guideline. Once separated, she dutch braided each section. Painting her face with a coat of white, a smokey eye and black lips she completed her look with three 'X' shaped beauty marks under her left eye.

“Doo Da-Do Doot Doo,” she sang a theme song as she sauntered her way to the kitchen. 'What do I do now,' she thought as she tilted her head side to side arms swinging back and forth.

Seeing her pill container atop the counter she opened Thursday's hatch up and kicked the contents to the back of her throat. Quickly grabbing water she swallowed down her, lack of a better term, happy pills. She stood motionless,

'I hate pills,

I hate this,

I hate life,

Why was I born?

No one would care if I was gone,

No one wants me.'

Her mood dropped a notch with each thought. The tidal wave of hopelessness crashed through her inner core over taking any tranquility she was experiencing in a breath. Her hands

grabbed a hold of the hard surface in front of her. Her vision blurred with unleashed tears she wouldn't shed. Her mother gone, father gone, sister gone, and now Luke distant, her support system dwindled. Everything was her fault in her chaotic mind causing old memories to pop out of the woodwork.

'Mom,' her mind whispered as the image of her was at the front of her mind today.

Losing the woman she called her mother at a young age had damaged her. She blamed herself for her death and still does. Even though she was eleven at the time, she volunteered to watch over one night, always wanting to be helpful. Her mom had been feeling unwell for a week and hadn't seemed to be getting better. Her parents had gone to the emergency room a couple a days prior only to be sent home with indigestion.

So the little Amarantha thought that since she was a big girl and that her dad and sister needed to rest that she could care for her mother. Only halfway through the night, her mother saw Amara fighting to stay awake next to her, sent her off to bed, claiming to follow her shortly. Unbeknownst to Amara that last word's she and her mother would speak to each other were the 'I love you's' that passed between them before the child stumbled to bed.

That next morning was forever ingrained in her mind. The image of her mother, the one person that gave her love, comfort, and care was found dead on the floor by their father. Everything changed after that moment.

Even twelve years later her mind would bring this up along with the horrible choice she has made after. How she handled her father's situation accompanied with Jasmine wanting nothing to do with her. Every time Amara made a mistake her mind would play it on repeat till she was nothing but a blubbering mess on the floor. She didn't know how much more she could handle her brain fighting her like this.

Lungs burning, 'Breath, Amarantha, you need to breathe, inhale with one, exhale on two,' her sensible side said breaking through. Counting and breathing till she regained control over her thought process.

'You can't change the past, just the future,' that voice that normally annoyed the living hell out of Amara, embolden her.

'This isn't happening,' she thought as she had actually liked what it said. Physically shaking her head back and forth she jumped a couple of times and shook her body as if that would rid herself of the overload of feelings. She needed to survive, for what she was unsure of; knowing her biggest enemy in life was herself, she needed to live even if it meant constantly battling her inner demons.

Amara turned to her ice box, catching the time on the wall she knew she needed to leave soon, so she made a quick lunch to take to work. Walking numbly around she collected all of her things she would need for the day, so she could head out. Doors locked, her feet carried her to her transportation and she drove to work on auto-pilot.

**2:58**

Parked in her spot, Amara didn't make a move to get out. After this morning she was dreading going inside wise to the fact she'd be unable to handle anymore emotional stress right now. The sun having vanished behind some storm clouds, Amara had at least two things to be grateful for: one the sun wasn't out, two she brought an umbrella.

Removing herself from the pathfinder was difficult but she managed. Feet getting heavier the closer she got to the door she slowed to a stop, 'Why not smoke, more time to avoid any confrontation.' She shifted her weight from foot to foot trying to keep her mind from wandering off. It was only three in the afternoon and she already needed something to numb her mind.

'Maybe I have a problem, but hey, the first step to fixing it is admitting I have a problem,' ending on a positive note.

Stamping out the cigarette on the side of the building she tossed the butt in the trash on her way in. In the back room Luke stood near his office area as if he were waiting for her. His posture said he was tired and his face troubled. She kept her eyes on the ground as she set her belongings down.

The tension was tangible in the air around them. She took out her folder and lunch from her bag, setting the folder on the table and walking her lunch to the fridge, all without sparing Luke a glance. He had hurt her yesterday and being in his company had made it worse.

'I will not break the silence,' she thought bitterly.

Amara walked by him, treating him as if he were invisible and went to the front to see if anything needed to be done. Not seeing much, she decided to do menial tasks such as clean the windows, mirrors, glass cabinet, and sweep even though that should be done at night. She'd just have to end up redoing it later which at this point she didn't care.

It wasn't till she was sweeping up the tiny pile of dirt in a dust pan that Luke came through the swinging door. Standing up straight, Amara stuck her nose up in the air clearly acting childish, and made to empty the contents she'd picked up.

“Ami,” Luke started with a soft sigh.

'Just tune out his voice,' Amara being unsurprisingly stubborn.

“Ami, Amara,” him obviously bothered by her not acknowledging him. Luke had made a move to stop her as the front door to the shop chimed. He stepped back as they both turned to see who entered the shop.

“Howdy Jacob, Bella,” Amara's customer service mask fell in place and her voice trying to be cheerful.

She of course knew of the two teens. When Embry would come around he was generally surrounded either by Jacob, Quil or both. Jacob seemed to have had the same growth spur like everyone else around here. 'What's with all these tall ass kids,' her mind knowing well enough that three people don't just bulk up and grow overnight.

She knew who Isabella Swan had been because she had been the talk of the town when moving back to Forks last year, her dad was the chief of police, that she had been dating a Cullen, and been in a depressed state ever since they left. Amara honestly felt as if she knew too much about the teenager's life, but a small town like this sure did love to gossip. Amara only met Isabella once when the teen was out around town with her boyfriend, Edward, and his sister, Alice. Amara had been stopped by the short, mystical looking girl in the trio to discuss fashion and about what inspired Amara.

When leaving she had called Isabella by her full name then and had been corrected by the three teens at the same time saying that she preferred Bella. Other than she knew nothing about her and felt the teenage girl was just that, a teenager, mind too sure of itself having everything in life mapped out. She honestly wished the best for her.

“What can we help you with,” Luke asked while Amara went to put up the cleaning supplies.

“Bella, here was wanting to get her first tattoo,” the teen spoke for his friend.

“Really? What were you thinking,” Luke's attention to Bella.

The girl obviously didn't like having all the attention on her, shifted on her feet. Amara almost felt sorry for her being able to sympathize. She use to hate the stares she'd receive for just wanting to express herself, now she could give a fuck what anyone thought on most days.

The mousy young woman spoke, “A lion. I-I was hoping Amarantha was free to do it.”

'Oh being someone's first was always nice,' Amara thought as she smiled at her new client.

“I'm free now if you'd like to do it today,” she offered and answered with a nod, “What kind of lion are you wanting, like are you wanting the whole lion or its head?”

Amara's mind swirling with possibilities already as she listened to Bella described what she wanted, a few ideas forming instantly. She asked if Bella could wait while she'd go to the back and draw up a design or two. Bella voiced she didn't mind and was called over to the counter by Luke who prepared the form for her to fill out.

In the back Amara set to work on drawing a basic lion's head, plain and simple, but held quite a bit of fine detail. Her next design she went a little feminine with the design by adding flowers in the lion's mane, and her odd need to do things in threes she drew one more somewhat out of the box. It was a lion's head but instead of being realistic its details were geometric with a hint of a tribal vibe to it.

Unsure of how much time passed she went up front to show Bella what she drew up, mentally bracing herself to have to redo them. Her lack of faith in herself showing through her thoughts. As she offered the pages to the young woman she noticed Luke and Jacob outside having a discussion. 'If only I could read lips,' for her curiosity piqued.

Her attention returning on to Bella, she watched the way the brunette studied each page carefully. Bella's face showed very little of anything while Amara's showed her nerves. “I really like this one,” Bella showed the geometric design to her. There was a long pause before she said, “I want this one.”

'See nothing to worry about, third one is always a charm,' her body loosening up from her tense stance. Her nerves were almost on fire today. She asked Bella where she'd like the tattoo and the teen pointed to her right upper arm. Amara quoted Bella her amount for doing the tattoo. The doe eyed teen said she had that amount in cash. The older woman's head tilted and looked at her with mild interest as to why the teen phrased it as such.

“Jacob, gave me the rundown as to what to expect,” Bella explained sheepishly.

“Well that's kind of him,” a huff of air blew from her nose as if to laugh and shadow of a smile could be seen on her pasty face, “Give me a little bit to get the stencil done and we'll get going.”

Her boot covered feet carried her to the back after grabbing the drawings. She sat herself into the comfortable drawing station once more. Her right hand flipped the light underneath the table surface as her left hand got busy to work tracing the picture she had just drawn. 'I wonder if she wants color,' her mind trying to imagine what she'd do quickly think of how'd she do it.

Sitting back in her chair she stretched out her back from hunching over the table. Cutting around the design, she got out of the comfortable backed chair and went through the swinging door. Amara nodded her head in the direction of her area, “You ready?”

Bella stood from one of the waiting area chairs and headed in her direction. Amara set the stencil down and sanitized the chair Bella would be during the session. Once dry and set up how she'd need Bella positioned, Amara offered her the chair.

Amara left once more only to return with freshly washed hands. Grabbing a pair of black gloves she shoved each hand into one with mild difficulty. She sat on her black stool and began setting everything up. “Since this is your first tattoo,” Amara began, “I feel as if its my duty to give you some pointers.

“Always, and I mean always, watch your artist open the needle. Never just hop in a chair without making sure that it's new and satirized.” Amara opened up the package the need came in and placed it within her gun. She gave it a test to make sure it was in properly. Next she grabbed her tiny ink wells filled two with black ink before asking, “Would you like color?”

Bella sat there transfixed on what Amara had been doing, she bit her bought lip, “I hadn't thought about it, would it cost more?”

“Well normally yes, but since it's your first one and you chose me, I'll do it with no extra charge,” Amara feeling enthusiastic, 'This is a design begging for watercolor.'

Not even a second past before Bella made up her mind to include color. She asked Amara what she had in mind which had Amara just ask what colors were her favorite. The questions kept rolling between the two till they both concluded that Amara would include as many as she could.

Amara transferred the stencil over to Bella's equally pale skin and made the teen go look at it in the mirror. When Amara got the thumbs up that she liked the placement, she grabbed the AD ointment and put some on her right hand and picked up her gun in the left.

“How bad will this hurt,” Bella panicked when the needle got close to her skin.

Amara stopped and looked at her client trying to find a way to not scare the young woman off. “Imagine the most painful thing you can imagine,” Amara started, which had Bella's eyes widen, “It won't be that.”

She let out a hearty laugh, her being the only one finding herself amusing. Her blue eyes met the deep brown of Bella's seeing the teens held a little mirth. “Sorry, I couldn't resist myself,” Amara's grin wide, “Ready to start?”

Bella took a deep breath and released it slowly before nodding her consent. Picking up black ink one more time, Amara brought her hand up to the design. She almost didn't hear Bella's gasp over the hum of the tattoo gun when the needle first pierced the alabaster skin. She completed the first line and asked, “Ya doin' okay?”

Bella bobbed her head seeming to be trying to just focus on anything, but the fact that a needle was jamming ink into her skin. Amara was right it definitely didn't hurt as bad as the worst pain the teen has ever felt, but it wasn't completely comfortable.

“Talking helps keep your mind off the pain,” Amara suggested to her as she pierced her skin again continuing the outline.

Bella ground her teeth through this line unable to think or contribute to small talk. The older woman stopped halfway through the outline letting the teen recuperate. “Did you know the most irradiated people on Earth are smokers and not astronauts or airplane pilots? It has to do with how the tobacco plant absorbs radiation from the soil.”

Bella stared at the artist as if she'd grown two heads. “Did you know armadillo's shells are bulletproof?”

Being met with silence Amara continued to spew random facts at her client to distract her. “Oh okay what about, did you know there's fungi that create zombie's then control their minds? Like if the fungi is in an ants system up to nine days it gains control over their mind and makes them fall from a tree into the cool soil so it can thrive in it.”

“Oh come on, that one can't be true. You honestly believe that,” Bella finally speaking up.

“I don't know if it is true or not, but it's fun and disturbing to think about,” Amara said almost done outlining the design.

“You don't really believe in that stuff though right,” Bella seemingly tested the waters.

“What do you mean?”

Bella looked over her shoulder, voice lowering, “Believe in the supernatural?”

“Like zombies,” Amara questioned before answering, “It could so happen.”

“What about other things?”

Amara narrowed her eyes at Bella, “Like ghosts, demons, witches, vampires, werewolves and such?”

Bella nodded and Amara began to ramble, “I believe there is a whole different part of this world that we humans know nothing about. There are so many accounts of people experiencing some things that just can't be explained away with science. We'll probably never know considering how our race reacts to things they don't understand. I'd hate for us to ever discover Aliens because we'd more than likely shoot first then ask questions.”

During her tangent, Amara finished the outline and switched over to her shading piece to begin laying down the colors. Bella sat there quietly processing everything Amara had just said. “You're right,” the meek teen speaking, “We'd just destroy what we don't understand.”

“Do you believe there is more out there than just us,” Amara countered thoroughly enjoying the direction of the conversation. She had always been a conspiracy theorist and liked having discussions about this sort of thing with other people.

Bella seemed apprehensive in answering, “Yes.”

Amara rose her vision from the tattoo to glance at Bella's cinched thick brows. She almost looked pained as if she'd relived a memory. “You still doing okay, Bella,” Amara inquired, drawing the teen out of her troubled mind.

“Yeah, I'm good. I honestly forgot about what we were doing,” Bella's smile not reaching her melancholy eyes, “Thanks for the distraction.”

“No problem,” Amara simply said.

It took no more than thirty more minutes of the gun buzzing before she had completed the tattoo. Wiping the ink away she added AD ointment all over the freshly poked area. “Want to take a look before I wrap it?”

Bella stood from the black seat and walked to a nearby mirror. She gasped, “Wow, this is amazing.”

That had her beaming. It always felt good to make someone happy. Amara prepared some cling wrap for the wound she had just given to Bella. When the teen approached her once more she asked her to have a seat once more followed by, “Do you mind if I take a picture of your tattoo?”

“Uh sure,” Bella just sat still as Amara snapped a picture of her arm.

She showed Bella the picture on the back of the digital camera's screen. 'It looks really good,' Amara subconsciously pat herself on the back, proud of her work. She wrapped the woman's arm and held the piece together with some medical tape. Amara handed a small pack of ointment to Bella, “Rub this over your tattoo for three days. After three days is up use a non-fragrant lotion over top. Don't go swimming for at least two weeks and the less sun exposed it has the better.

Now if you notice you need any touch ups once everything is healed all up here and we'll get you scheduled,” Her black filled brows knitted together and she bit her lip adding, “I'd normally give you my cellphone number, but I haven't replaced my old one yet, so I apologize.

Other than that I think yer good to go,” Amara finally done talking at the teen. Bella handed over the amount agreed upon and a little extra. Amara asked if she was sure, 'I know my worth and I don't cost this much.'

“Yeah, I'm sure. It was,” Bella deliberated how to say it without coming off awkward, “Your presence is refreshing and you distracted me from my thoughts. I've needed that and I appreciated it. P-plus I can't believe I'll forever have this art on me. I'm glad I chose you.”

Amara unable to take a compliment rubbed the back of her neck with a non-gloved hand, “I guess if you put it like that.. Look Bella if ya ever need someone to just listen to you I'm good at it. Maybe when you come for your next tat? Don't ask me advice though, I suck at giving it.”

The young woman looked at her questioningly before Amara stating with a smile, “Once you've had one you'll want another.”

Bella shook her head with a sliver of a grin before saying goodbye to Amara, meeting her friend outside. Amara went to work with cleaning up her mess and disinfecting surfaces/tools. She heard the front door open and glanced up to see Luke had walked in. 'Are we still ignoring him,' she asked herself with a yes following quickly.

She walked passed him after having disposed of everything she needed to, to head to the register to add the shops fee to the till. Being behind the counter/glass cabinet, Amara didn't give thought that Luke would move behind her and block her only exit. When she turned to leave she saw is solid frame in her vision. Making a move to pass him, her plans of just going around Luke were thwarted when his massive arms went to block either side of him.

“Amarantha,” Luke plead, “Please forgive me. I shouldn't have used your mental health against you. It was a dick move on my part and I'm an asshole for it.”

His head hung in shame but with his height was still able to look directly in Amara's eyes. What she saw was in front of her was a man near his breaking point. Dark circles under his exhausted eyes, usual clean shaven face had dark stubble, and hair unkept as if he hasn't slept in days. 'I hate seeing him like this, so torn,' rang in her mind.

“You're right though,” he sighed, “something is going on.”

Amara was stopped mid-inhale, “Uh-uh, before you try prying anything out of me, know what I can't speak about it. But trust me Ami, if I could speak about it, you'd be the first to know. I hate being so..”

“Divided,” Amara finished his sentence. 'Why can't he just tell me the truth,' she screamed internally. He continued, “I don't want to loose our friendship because of this. I love you to much to let that happen.”

She huffed and pouted, not looking at him but the floor, 'What's so exclusive that he can't just tell me?'

'I really can't loose him too.'

Though still filled to the brim with questions Amara would set them aside if it meant that he'd at least communicate with her which she expressed in a not so friendly manner. “Ya damn right, yer an ass for deflecting me the way ya did. Don't ever do that again, ya hear? And communicate before ya just run off to where ever,” her slender manicured finger poked at his chest.

Lowering her hand she hugged herself as if to give comfort. Sighing, “Look I cain't and I ain't gonna loose ya because of this, alright? But I swear if I find out ya joined a cult imma beat some sense into ya with my pimp hand.”

Her face held a forgiving type of mirth but her eyes screamed of her concern for Luke. He had never looked so disheveled and the thought of her or something of great magnitude causing this made her heart ache. How many times when she was reliving her worst moments did he sit by her side till she came back to reality? How many times did he spend the night to help with the consuming night terrors that plagued her? How many times he'd saved her life by just being there?

'I won't abandon him.'

He pulled her into a bone crushing hug and exhaled his thanks in her hair. Luke's embrace was comforting as always except for the heat that radiated of his body. Amara pulled away from him saying he was scorching hot and fanned herself with her hand. Never really enjoying being on fire.

“Always knew you thought I was good looking,” came her smug friend.

She snorted unlady like, “Quit with that big ego of yours. Your head is already twice as big as the rest of your body.”

“Now you're saying I have a big head,” his eyebrows wiggled before laughing at the dead expression on her face. He let her pass when she made the move to do so.

“I'm going on break if you think you can survive without me,” her sarcasm was waved off and she headed to eat her lunch and fill her lungs with tobacco. She scarfed the sandwich she brought and chugged a bottle of water along with it. She tossed her empty sandwich container in her bag when stated and grabbed her smokes.

She spent a good time out in the spring night's air. She loved the sound of the nature around her to the point she could empty her mind and just meditate while standing. It wasn't till she felt the sting of the red hot cherry from her cigarette did she open her eyes that Amara didn't remember closing.

“Ow fuck,” she exclaimed shaking the butt from her hand and stepping on it. 'So much for tranquility,' she was being bitter.

Being in the warm environment made her realize she was actually cold. Shivering she walked to the coat rack were she kept her back up jackets and slipped on a basic black one. Amara went up front to see that Luke was busy at work with a client. She greeted them and went about her business answering phone calls, cleaning and even tattooed a few more walk-ins.

It was roughly eleven o'clock at night when Luke and Amara both were unoccupied. Each of them having had a steady night which was good. They sat in there stools rolled near each other sharing their work with the other. Amara was always impressed with Luke's work and ability to just free hand his art directly on to his clients skin. She went through his photo's commenting on each one and he did the same. It was when he brought up Aaron's tattoo from the day prior did she remember of her 'date.'

Luke having watched Amara grimace upon hearing Aaron's name spoke defensively, “Did something happen yesterday while I wasn't here?”

Chewing on the inside of her cheek, “Sorta, not really. He just asked me on a date.”

He moved his head and motioned his hand as if he said, 'And?'

“I caved and said yes,” Amara muttered not feeling right. It's not like Aaron was a bad looking man or anything, she just didn't want to commit to a relationship right now. 'I'm an emotional wreck as is, no needs this in their life,' having decided stubbornly now that she wouldn't let this go further than one night out.

“Sounds like you don't want to go,” he stated instead of questioning.

Breathing out heavily she looked at him side ways, “Its 'cause I don't. At least not yet, you know? Like its not time yet.”

Her companion sat next to her thoughtfully speaking only after a moment of silence, “But when will it be time?”

The had her open her mouth before closing it soon after, flabbergasted. She couldn't answer that honestly for she didn't know. Face scrunched as she pondered over his question. Just how much time did she need to pass before it felt okay for her to let herself actually feel happiness again? Shaking her head, she shrugged her shoulders in defeat not know what to answer.

“Why don't you give him a chance and just go from there. You need to enter the world at some point so why not now,” he tried advising Amara. She just shrugged once more murmuring an okay.

Luke nudged her shoulder causing her to lift her eyes to his face, “Does this mean we've got to stop flirting now?”

Amara smirked feeling his trying to lighten the mood, “Never. The Aries in me won't allow that.”

They released a laugh together like old friends do and spent the remainder of the evening in a comfortable silence. The friends parted ways after closing, each one relieved that they were okay once more. Amara's night had ended in a similar fashion as the previous with her drinking and getting stoned to numb her mind from over thinking while being alone. It wasn't till she was comfortably numb that she went to swallow down her nightly dose. She laid in her bed forcing her mind to focus on nothing till darkness took her away.

Sources:

[h t t p ](https://www.rd.com/list/interesting-facts/)s : / / [ w w w. r d. c o m / li s t/ interesting-facts/](https://www.rd.com/list/interesting-facts/)


	3. One Tequila, Two Tequila, Three Tequila, Floor

**March 5 th, 2006**

Yesterday was a very easy going day for Amara. It had been so laid back that the storm in her gut wished for yesterday. Unfortunately, today was Sunday and her luscious form stood in front of her closet completely helpless. “Why'd I agree to this,” she groaned for the tenth time. Her mind answering, 'Beats me.'

'No one asked you,' firing back, miffed at herself. Amara started rifling through her clothing trying to find exactly what she felt like wearing. She didn't feel like being decked in grunge was not very first date appropriate, but no matter how much she dreaded tonight she would look her best.

It was when her eyes landed upon the purple dress with a floral, lacy overlay that she had bought over a year ago. Pulling it from the hanger she laid the dress on her messy bed to go hunt down a pair of her lacy black hosiery. Finding a pair in her top draw she slid them over her meaty thighs and over her plump stomach. She removed the straps from her black bra knowing that it would look better strapless with the spaghetti strapped heart shaped neckline.

Turning to the elegant dress she undid the zipper in the back and glided the silky inside over top her curler filled head. As always she struggled with getting the zipper to go up. 'I fucking need another person to do this,' she exacerbated. Getting in an awkward position with her arms she pulled it up.

She smoothed down the ringing bell shaped skirt and moved to look into her full size mirror. Amara felt confident in with the extra detailed thin straps that showed off her tattooed shoulders and arms; the black midsection with laced up sides accentuated her high waist. It was until her eyes landed on the bright pink hair curlers did she not feel so refined.

“Real classy with 'K' and an 'I',” her words sarcastic. Cramming her lips together before wondering what the time was, she looked at the clock by her bed seeing it was fifteen till four. She had plenty of time. Amara went back to her closet and shuffled through her shoe pile searching for her pair of black coven boots.

With a 'Ah-ha,' she pulled the shoes out and placed her feet into them. Bending over she buckled the six buckles that adorn each boot to keep them in place. She wobbled a bit when she stood up too fast, 'Please don't fall today.' Her plea answer as she caught her balance soon after.

Her make up for the evening was lighter than her usual caked on base. She left her eyes simple with doing a cat eye with her black liner which she struggled with getting them to match. Only a hint of blush caressed her pale cheeks and her lips matched in color to the plum, sheer duster that she'd be wearing underneath her long, black petticoat coat.

Her attention was drawn to her hair as she released the loose curls from the curlers, hair cascading over her freshly shaved sides. She set to work pinning her hair to show off her inked scalp. Amara curled her long side pieces with the hot iron and attempted to and a few more curls where she saw needed a little help.

A half a can of hairspray later she exited her bathroom and roamed into her kitchen. Having a few mishaps with her eyeliner had made the time fly by. Thirty minutes after five, she stood, nearly a wreck with nerves, over her the deep, divided sink just trying to calm herself. All of that was thrown out the window when a knock came from her door. 'It's not time yet,' her mind freaking out that it wasn't fully prepared for this.

Her feet felt heavy as she approached the door to unlock it. Hands on the lock and knob, she undid both locks at the same time. Door swinging open, Amara's eyes widen as a very attractive Aaron stood before her. His hips were hugged by dark denim jeans with a dress shirt tucked in. A black leather jacket graced his strong shoulders. He styled his hair back and seemed to have trimmed his beard.

'Maybe this wasn't a mistake,' she relented as she drank him in. “Whoa, you look beautiful,” Aaron breathed out, jaw slacked. The fire in his eyes made her bite her lip knowing full well what he was thinking.

“Well you sure do clean up nice yourself,” a burst of shyness took over her nerves. The bowed her head and looked up through her long lashes.

“Oh these are for you,” he said handing her a bouquet of flowers she had overlooked while ogling him.

“Daisies,” she grabbed them and inhaled their scent, “How'd you know they're my favorite?”

“It was just a feeling,” Aaron's lips lifted into a soft smile.

She stood back and opened the door wider. “Why don't you come in while I find something to put these in,” she offered. She was thankful for having cleaned up some more earlier today.

She looked through her cabinets and found a rather large mason jar the perfect height for the already trimmed stems. She filled it with water and placed the flower arrangement in the center of her table. 'It was very thoughtful of him,' she smiled as she bent to smell the flowers a final time before turning to the man that stood in her entryway. His gaze on her.

She grabbed the black clutch that had all of her essentials within it after Aaron, being a gentleman, helped Amara into her coat. Making sure her porch light was on, she locked the door and followed him to his

Old blue and white striped Chevrolet truck. Aaron opened the passenger side door and closed it once she had gotten in. She felt giddy as he started the truck and pulled out of the rocky drive. After driving for quite a while she was unable to stop herself asking, “So where are we going?”

He glanced at her sideways, a crooked smile on his face, “I figured I'd take you to a dive bar near Port Angeles. They're having an open mic night.”

“Oh a dive bar and open mic,” voice laced with excitement, “Maybe I wore the wrong thing?”

“No, no you look perfect,” Aaron countering any doubts she just had, “Since we've got a bit to get there, why don't we play a game.”

She faced in his direction while buckled to her seat, eyebrow raised, “A game? What do ya have in mind?”

“How's twenty questions sound?”

'Clique,' echoed the annoying part of Amara's brain.

'Shut up,' instead she voiced, “That doesn't sound bad. Why don't I start?”

Aaron nodded his head. She started off with an easy one, “Have you always lived here?”

His eyes on the rode while answering, “I was born in Seattle, but lived near Forks my whole life.”

Aaron took a moment before asking, “What made you move to Forks of all places? Don't get me wrong, I love Forks, but it's a very small town with horrible weather.”

Amara drew her bottom lip in between her teeth trying to decide if she should be truthful. Taking a light heart-ed approach, she said with a smile, “Those are exactly the reasons I chose to love here. I love the rain and less people I have to deal with.”

'I was also running away from my problems which lead to more problems,' the voice mimicked in a high nasally tone which Amara just dug her nails into her palms to distract herself from, well, herself.

“That's hard to believe, loving the rain. Do you enjoy being soaking wet every time you step outside?”

Amara put her finger up a small smirk in place, “I do believe it's my turn to question you, sir.” She rubbed her lips together, “How's business going?”

He chuckled, “Did you really just use a question on asking how my business is going?”

“Well, yeah,” she looked at her lap where both her hands rested, “I just know asking about it is pretty much asking about you.”

“You got a point there,” he just shook his, a head smile still on his face, “The nursery is doing really well this year. I had a good harvest of flowers and vegetables from the green house. It's been pretty busy planting right now, getting ready for another good season hopefully.”

Amara's head cocked to the side, “Did my daisies come from your garden?”

“My turn to question, remember,” he teased her with her own words, “but yes I picked them myself.”

“That's very sweet of you, Aaron,” Amara's storm ebbing down to butterflies, biting her lip after saying so. 'I'm going to puke,' her inner voice said.

“What kind of music do you listen to?”

“Anything really. I'm not a super fan of country or rap music, but there's still good songs in each genre. Lately I've been into industrial rock and classical. What about you, what do you like,” Amara stopping herself from listing the specific bands that have caught her ear.

“I might disappoint you, I love country music and the oldies. I mean you can never go wrong with the oldies, am I right” he asked.

“That's the one thing that just saved you, your love for oldies,” she giggled as he flashed Amara his straight, white teeth.

The truck pulled up into a packed parking lot of a rustic, quirky looking restaurant. Aaron rushed to open Amara's door and to help her out. They walked together on the loosely graveled pavement with her arm looped around his. He opened the door to the establishment and allowed her to walk into the chattering room filled with people of all types.

They were set on the right side of the small stage in the restaurant and across from the bar. With Aaron's help, Amara slid out of her coat and he went to hang it up after pushing in the chair for her. 'I wonder how long this gentlemanly act will last,' she wondered as he approached the table without his jacket, 'He definitely pleasing to my eyes'

The waitress came to our table as he sat down and introduced herself, handing us menus and proceeding to ask what we'd like to drink. Aaron ordered a whiskey and coke along with a water and Amara asked for the fruitiest alcoholic beverage they had and for a water as well. Amara noticed someone go on stage and they began to perform.

“I thought tonight was open mic, you didn't say anything about karaoke,” her head turned from the stage to him.

Aaron held the menu looking at it, “I must have let it slip my mind.”

“Uh-huh sure, I'm starting to think you talked to Luke to find out what I was interested in,” Amara's eyes keen.

“I might have. Are you going to sing for me tonight,” his tone turned more flirtatious.

Chewing on her lip Amara didn't know how to describe how she was feeling. The uneasiness and regret she had been feeling had all but disappeared. What remained were the fluttering of her heart and stomach and the bashfulness that flared from being the center of his attention.

Releasing her lip she humored, “Supply me with enough drinks and I'll gladly go up there and make a fool of myself for you.”

Aaron's forehead creased, “I was told you're an amazing singer.”

That had Amara burst out laughing at the same time the waitress returned with their drink order. As she calmed her laughter, Aaron told the waitress we'd need a few more moments to look at the menu. Breath finally caught, Amara took a drink of her delightfully dangerous drink before speaking, “Sorry about that. Luke obviously has lied to you. I can't sing, but I like to. Think of me as Biz Markie from Just a Friend.”

That caused him to chuckle and lean back in his chair, “He really sang his heart out though. I still would love to see it. How about this I'll go first and then you can go if you're up for it?”

Aaron didn't really have to twist her arm to get her to agree. She could remember the last time she'd done something like this with Luke and some of his family on the beach. It was a very entertaining night with too much liquor consumed on her part. Now she'd hopefully make another good memory tonight.

“So what else did you find out about me,” she asked, taking another drink.

“I found out that your favorite color is green,” her eyes looked into his, “that you enjoy anything fine arts related, and that if I hurt you in any way that he'll beat me up.”

His warm smile was contagious, Amara couldn't help returning it. After they had more than enough time to look at their menu they finally placed their food order. Aaron left the table to go place his name on the sign up list. With her first drink downed she asked for another as the waitress passed. She felt a slight buzz which helped her loosen up.

“There, name's on the list,” Aaron said as he sat back in his seat. He picked up a piece of the bread in the center of the table and offered it to Amara which she took. She buttered the bread and ate it slowly.

“So continuing our game,” she leaned in, “You remember whose turn it was?”

“I believe it was my turn,” he contemplated, “One thing I'm dying to find out, why do you try to hide your accent.”

“I don't know what you're talking about,” Amara said nonchalantly while taking another sip from her water.

He just stared at her like she knew full well what he was talking about as he ate some bread. She let out a sigh knowing there was no use in denying it, “I don't want to sound like a hick. Cause who'd'a thunk I was intelligent when I cain't say water without replacing the 'T' with a 'D' and straw is strall. There ain't no you all it's y'all or all y'all.”

He scoffed and with the best impression he could, “I thank you sure do sound purty intelligent to me, Ma'am.”

“Liar,” she gave a playful push on his arm with the biggest grin on her face. It had been a long time since she'd felt this tickled at someone's attempt of flirting. 'Did Luke tell him humor was the way to my heart?'

His other hand came to place itself over her smaller hand keeping it firmly on his arm, “I promise I'm not lying. Anyone who can't see your intelligence past the southern twain are idiots.”

Amara's cheeks began to turn a lovely rose pink with the skin to skin contact. Even though its just hands that are touching, they're touching in an intimate way. How long had it been since anyone touched her aside from work she couldn't help scanning her mind. The last hug or simplest of touches she could remember was over a month ago before she went to Texas. Luke had hugged her giving his condolences, hell when she was at the funeral not one of her family members talked to her so she had been left alone during that whole stay.

She had sat there frozen with her heart rate picking up speed. Her brain at a snails pace began to work again and she pulled her hand away, looking at her lap pinker than before. 'What the fuck, am I that touch starved that I break down at the smallest of gestures,' she berated herself.

They sat there just listening to the person on stage sing a Journey song and sipped on their drinks. It was Amara who was slowly feeling the liquid courage kick in that broke the silence, “So, what do you like to do in your spare time?”

He set his empty glass on the table, “Other than tending to my personal garden, I enjoy camping, hiking, and fishing. I go kayaking on the rarest occasion.

Sometimes I like to take spontaneous trips to nowhere just to go exploring. I love movies, rather it's going to the theater or staying at home, its just nice to transport yourself to another world,” he paused before leaning in, which Amara copied, “I also enjoy taking gorgeous southern women to dive bars with live music.”

Amara's head turned towards his wishing she had a fan. Her body was overheating from either the alcohol or this man who just knew how to press her buttons. During the whole time of being his tattoo artist did she think he'd be into her. He never acted inappropriate or overly flirtatious.

This honestly had Amara split in two. One side of her wanted to say fuck it and jump his bones; the other wanted nothing to do with this as if it knew he wasn't what she needed right now. 'Don't even think about going home with him,' her conscious warned.

“What about you? What does a woman like you do in your down time?”

Biting her rather sore lip before answering, “Other than going to work, I just doodle or paint, I like to read, music is almost constantly playing in the background while I do anything or at least the TV. I like a little noise. I'm not super interesting,” she rambled.

Amara didn't want to talk about how lately her nights where passed with a lot of alcohol or cannabis to numb herself. Nope that was defiantly a discussion for another day and with someone else, maybe a professional.

Before another word could be uttered the food was brought out to the table and another round of drinks was placed. Both plates looking good the pair began to eat continuing they're conversation in between bites.

“I don't find that boring. I'd love to see your art.”

“I wouldn't call what I do art,” Amara corrected. 'Its not art. Art looks good,' echoed her thoughts.

He just shook his head in disagreement with his never ending smile. Nothing would change her mind in that department though, she was to stubborn to believe anything positive. Half-way through eating Aaron got up for his turn on stage. Amara watched as the man sang Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash. Aaron's attempt to sound like the famous man in black had Amara failing to suppress a grin.

When he had finished she clapped along with the others in the place. He didn't come to the table right away. He had stopped at the sign up list which Amara could only guess one thing. 'Well shit, he's signing me up,' she didn't feel ready to go full on Yoko Ono. She downed the remainder of her beverage and followed it with some water.

“Are you ready to go next,” Aaron smugly asked, “you did say you'd do it.”

“I sure did,” the drawl coming more present with the amount of liquor she's consumed, “Cain't back out now?”

Aaron drank some of his water muttering, “Nope. I already signed you up.”

“I figured,” she snorted with a lopsided smile, “You were really good up there. How often do you come here?”

“Not often enough, maybe that will change,” he looked at her and took a bite of his meal with that damned quirk of his lips.

“Oh, and what could you possibly mean by that,” Amara feigning ignorance.

Amara had an inkling of what he was suggesting throughout the night. 'He wants more than just this one date,' her tipsy brain could not think of anything outside of that. She didn't know how she felt about the thought of what would happen past tonight. Right now she was liquored up enough to do anything without care so it was the opportune moment for her to be called up the stage.

“Amara, we both know-”

Aaron was caught off by Amara being called up to the stage. She bit her lip and stood from her seat. She took one last sip of water and said, “Well, I hope you enjoy the travesty that's about to occur up there.”

“Break a leg,” he called to her as she deliberately sauntered to the person running the music.

Amara looked through the giant log of songs they had to choose from, impressed by their variety of music. She flipped through the catalog looking for any artist or songs she knew by heart. It was when she flipped to the 'C's' that she found what she had been looking for. Pointing to the song on the list the DJ got the song ready for whenever she was.

She could feel her heart racing as she walked on to the brightly lit stage. The feeling of eyes upon made her skin crawl, but with liquid luck on her side, it was soon forgotten. She cleared her throat away from the mic and gave a nod to for the song to start.

“ _On candy stripe legs the Spiderman comes  
Softly through the shadow of the evenin' sun  
Stealin' past the windows of the blissfully dead  
Looking for the victim shivering in bed  
Searchin' out fear in the gathering gloom  
And suddenly a movement in the corner of the room  
And there is nothing I can do when I realize with fright  
That the Spiderman is having me for dinner tonight,”_

Amara sang in a breathless, sensual voice and even danced a gothic two step shuffle, hips swaying back and forth. Her hands had flowed along with the rhythm to enhance the creeping, unsettling nature of the song. She had easily slipped into performance mode, making the song her own.

Her light eyes had scanned the room and smiled at Aaron when she landed upon. Amara's eyes drifted from her date and landed on a man in the very back. This man would be of little importance to her if he had not had startling ruby eyes. It confused and panicked her slightly when in a blink of her eyes the figure had disappeared. 'I'm fucking seeing shit now,' she thought before continuing the song.

  
  


“ _Quietly he laughs and shaking his head  
Creeps closer now, closer to the foot of the bed  
And softer than shadow and quicker than flies  
His arms are all around me and his tongue in my eyes  
Be still be calm be quiet now my precious boy  
Don't struggle like that or I will only love you more  
For it's much too late to get away or turn on the light  
The Spiderman is having me for dinner tonight_

_And I feel like I'm being eaten  
By a thousand million shivering furry holes  
And I know that in the morning  
I will wake up in the shivering cold  
And the Spiderman is always hungry”_

Amara bowed but tuned out any of the clapping from the fellow patrons, unable to accept what the applause meant. She rushed from the stage feeling uneasy from hallucinating a red eyed man. She reminded herself, 'Take your meds when you get home. That will stop it.' At least she hoped it would. If she needed to go and get the dosages upped again she would. 'Maybe start drinking less,' that made her snicker knowing that wouldn't be happening anytime soon.

Sitting back in her chair, Aaron's wide eyed, dumbstruck face, had her asking if he was okay. “You said you couldn't sing,” was what fell from his lips.

“That wasn't singing,” Amara shrugged, “It was more whispering than anything.”

“You had me hypnotized. What made you choose The Cure,” he inquired.

Hey eyes lit up, “You recognized the song?”

“Who wouldn't be able to remember Lullaby? It's haunting but in a good way.”

The waitress came to their table asking if they'd be needing dessert or another round of drinks to which Aaron looked to Amara to see what she wanted. Shrugging she said she was good. He asked for the check and went to pay. She offered to pay which he immediately declined. Her forehead creased not, liking being shot down.

“I asked you out, so by right I should pay,” he explained, “If it would make you feel better, next time you can pay.”

“Next time,” she asked coyly.

“Yes, next time, I mean if you decided you'd like to go out with me again,” his tone self-assured as if he knew what her answer to a second date would be.

If Amara stopped lying to herself she'd see she had already made her decision. He was goofy, confident, self-sufficient, and handsome. How could she pass Aaron up? Letting the alcohol do the talking, she suggestively asked, “Well, the night is still young, why don't we have dessert at your place?”

Pouring gasoline on the already building fire between them, Aaron stood from his seat and helped her from hers. 'I hope you know what you're doing, Ami,' the voice sounding more apprehensive. 'Let me live a little, I need this distraction,' Amara squashing any doubts for what she just initiated. She was fully aware of what she was doing, the alcohol just made it easier.

On the way out, Aaron helped her with her jacket. Both adults seemed to be in a rush to get out of there. The sexual tension that surrounded them was thicker than a dense fog. The small talk that had filled the trucks cab on the way there was instead filled with small touches from the other.

It took no time for them to pull into the gravel drive of Aaron's place. Amara momentarily wished she could see exactly what his home looked like on the outside, but with it being a moonless night she couldn't make much of the property out. He parked his truck in the garage attached. Aaron helped Amara out of the cab for the last time that night and led her inside.

His home felt cozy and lived in. Aaron turned to face her once she was in his kitchen, “I do actually have some ice cream if you'd like dessert.”

This was his way of giving her a chance to back out and she wasn't having any of that. She wanted to break him out of his gentleman act, so her only answer was to grasp his shirt and pull him to meet her eager lips. Aaron didn't hesitate to reciprocate her hungry kiss. The faintest bite was felt on Amara's lower lip causing her to gasp. Aaron took the chance to slide his tongue into her mouth, exploring, and fighting for dominance at the same time.

A moan escaped from as his warm hands gripped her hips and pulled her further to his body, grinding into her so she could feel his excitement. Amara didn't want foreplay right now. No her body craved to be dominated. She needed the overwhelming feeling of pleasure to erase her mind, even if it was only for a night.

She felt his hands slide of the thin material of her outermost layer away before heading to the zipper on her back. Gravity pulled the weighted fabric of the dress from her body. Aaron broke the kiss to feast his eyes upon the full figured woman in front of him. Amara bit her bruised lip and heard him groan as her drank her in.

“You're absolutely gorgeous,” his lips attacked her neck before she could utter her disagreement.

Her legs became jelly as he bit and sucked on the right side of her neck, hands groping her covered chest. His skilled fingers had her breast uncovered in no time. When his fingers found her nipples he pulled back from her neck.

“Pierced,” he questioned before bending down to latch on her left one.

That caused her to cry out and her legs to shake. His tongue flicking over the very sensitive flesh, hardening the semi-permanently erect bud and sending an electric bolt straight to her core. He released the taunt peak with a pop before paying appropriate attention to the other. Amara held on to the man for dear life as she should no longer trust her legs to keep her up right.

Aaron pulled back from her chest, “So its true then.”

“”What, that they're even more sensitive when pierced,” she cried out near the end when he flicked her perked right pebble, body tensing from the shock of pleasure.

He smirked before claiming her lips again and slowly maneuvered them around his home shedding more clothing along the way. It was when the back of Amara's bare legs hit his bed did she realize they'd made it to his room. A trail of hot wet kisses were left across her flush skin as his rough hands tugged the last article of clothing from her body.

Aaron took a step back to drink in Amara's naked figure in only his boxers. Amara took a shaky step to Aaron and let her hands explore the older man's body. Her hands rubbed over his sparsely hairy chest traveling down the smooth plane of his stomach. She didn't stop at his boxers, instead she slide her hand under the thin material and lightly gripped the hot flesh. He felt like a decent size in the palm of her hand, maybe wider than that she's used to.

His groan encouraged her to remove his boxers from his surprisingly toned legs. His erection stood proudly out, weeping with excitement. Amara knelt down and licked the tip of his mushroom. The taste of the salty, bitter liquid on her tongue made her curious as to what the rest of him tasted like. He didn't let her find out as he gently pushed her on to the edge of the bed. He was going to line up at her dripping entrance, but she stopped him.

“Condom,” she asked, not wanting to fear becoming pregnant or catching anything.

He quickly went to his bedside table and came back wrapped in thin latex. Aaron didn't waste a beat before plunging deep into her quiver. She cried out, not use to the fullness. He gave her time to get accustomed to his girth before he set an irregular pace.

The discomfort of him having just plugged into her without any notice slowly ebbed away. If only pleasure replaced it. No what she was feeling was an odd sense of discomfort. She tried focusing on the feeling of being pierced by his pole repeatedly or his mouth latched on to her nipples.

Amara lifted her hips to match his thrusts trying to rub her bundle of nerves against his pelvis. That not working out her hand slid between them, gliding over her bean to feel anything. 'What the hell is going on,' her mind confused. Her whimper of frustration came off as a pleasured one to Aaron. His hips picked up pace and became even more irregular in his consistency.

He lifted from her body to stand up straight thrusting into her warm heat at a different angle. Amara bit her lip, brows cinched, eyes closed; she began to feel some burst of pleasure as he started to hit that hidden spot within her tunnel. Too bad that when she started to begin her build up to a happy ending that his approached swiftly.

Aaron grunted over her and gave a few final thrusts before officially stopping, leaving Amara in a wanton state. He withdrew from her body, soft. He left from between her legs which had her raised to her elbows. 'Is that it,' she questioned in need of sexual release.

He returned to the bed with the room still as dark as it was when they entered. He bent down and kissed her slowly. “Let's sleep,” he said breaking the kiss.

'Are you fucking kidding me,' her mind livid, 'Is that seriously fucking it!'

Aaron pulled the covers down on the bed and motioned for her to follow him. Grumpily Amara scooted up the bed and got under the comforter. She would sleep here tonight, but after that she didn't know if she wanted to be here that long in the morning. He pulled her still naked form toward him to snuggle. 'Fuck if you ever make the decisions again,' she was angry with herself, luckily with the amount of alcohol consumed she passed out with in minutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own any music mentioned in this fic


	4. I Hate Mondays

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NSFW

Stirring from the light that swarmed her lidded eyes, Amara grimaced. The plushy inviting bed she had once laid in was no longer beneath her. She instead felt the chilly surface of the floor. Her eyes fluttered open and closed just as quickly. It was too bright for the still tipsy female.

Squinting from the brightness, her blurred vision could only make out a high domed ceiling that was rimmed with curve topped windows. Her body ached as she lifted her stiffened bones from the stone ground. If she had perfect eyesight she'd notice that she was in a rather large round room with two story archways and columns lining the walls. Maybe instead of seeing a clouded platform with three chairs, she'd see the detailed thrones and imposing stage that laid beneath.

She couldn't help blinking her eyes multiple times to clear her watering eye sight, 'Where are my glasses,' she carefully searched the floor for them in vain. She couldn't remember where she'd put them. The last thing she remembers was the unsatisfying encounter she'd just had. 'Wait a minute,' a sense of panic crept over her as her slow, drunken brain began processing her surroundings, 'This isn't Aaron's room. I didn't fall asleep here.'

She turned around finding that there looked to be three doorways she could go. Her bare feet carried her, not in the direction of any of the doors, but to the platform, something pulling her over there. The moment she took her second step up the stairs that lined the elevated floor the doors directly across the room slammed open.

Amara startled, jumped back and managed to trip up the stairs. Eyes glued to the source of the loud bang she tried focusing on the tall figure, but their distance made it impossible for any details to be seen. She was a deer stuck in headlights as the ominous form before intensified. The cold ground that her plump bottom was pressed against had her quickly wrap her arms over the top of her body. 'Of course I'd be naked in a damn dream,' she thought.

The figure from the door that had caused her to fall was in front of her so fast she thought she blinked. A gasp escaped her as the stranger looked menacing with his snow-like shoulder length hair, scowl over the angular features and onyx eyes. He looked like a fallen angel that was here to take her soul.

His chest expanded as his nose flared from smelling the air. A rumbling growl tore through the silence and the predatory man had her unclothed body pressed against a stoned wall. Her body roughly moved in such a jarring manner made her nauseated and world spin.

Morgue temperature lips snarled near her right ear, “Who touched you?”

Amara shivering from the fear she was experiencing in this dream made her remain silent. What could a figment of her imagination really do? It was her turn to breath in deeply through her nose to calm her rapidly beating heart. Eucalyptus and spearmint caressed her nose like an old lover.

The sound of her enjoyment from his cologne came from her tight lipped mouth seeming to set the man further off. His tone grew more aggressive this time, “Answer me woman. Tell me who dared to claim what's not theirs.”

She trembled as she answered, “A-Aaron.”

“And did this,” his lip curling with abhorrence, “Aaron fulfill his quest?”

'Why do I feel like I'm missing something,' Amara not understanding what he meant. All her mind was wanting to focus on was how right it felt to be trapped by him, whereas a normal, reasonably minded person would be fighting to leave this threatening situation. 'It's not real.'

The white haired man sucked at the base of her neck where her pulse was the strongest. She cried out from the painful way his chilled mouth pulled at her skin. Cold hands found their way onto her warm flesh making her body jolt, pushing herself further into his solid, unmovable frame.

His mouth released the freshly bruised flesh, planting themselves at her right earlobe, “Speak.”

She wanted to speak, but she still didn't understand what he meant. Telling him so through panted breath his hands held her hips in a bruising grip, and lifted her up like her weight had zero effect over him. He manipulated her body around his with little effort before rephrasing his question, “Do you belong to him?”

“I belong to no one,” she snarled at him, unaware that this man could very easily hurt her and had placed her in a very vulnerable position.

He chuckled very sinisterly, “Oh how wrong you are, young one.”

She had been to focused on his erotic timbre to have noticed the cold tips of his fingers gliding their way across her curvy body. The cold sensation of his long fingers between her puffy pedals elicited a high pitched,”Uh.” 'Cold doesn't belong here,' her brain signaled. His nimble hands found the hood to her sensitive bud, giving it a flick.

Her hips jerked at the sensation, head falling back at the instantaneous pleasure that coursed through her veins from the simple gesture. His ministration's kept fogging up her mind. All she knew was that she needed more, no matter the cost.

“You belong to me,” he roared as he impaled her. The cold member intruding her hot passage had her already tight tunnel cling snugly around him. Thankfully the center point between her legs was saturated with her arousal because he didn't give her time to adjust to his above average phallus. His clothed, narrow hips withdrew his bulbous tip only to plug into her sheath again grunting, “and my brothers.”

Her ears didn't register what he had just claimed as her own noises drowned him out. His rhythm was frenzied and inhumanly fast. He claimed one of her bouncing orbs between his lips. Sharp teeth nipped at her delicate skin causing her to clench around him. Taking it up a notch, a free hand found her other breast and used a pointed nail to slice above the pierced pebble.

She whimpered at the sting she felt on the oversensitive flesh. Her blue hazel eyes watch him release the abused breast to feast upon the bleeding twin. “Oh, Fuck,” she exclaimed being turned on way to much from the sight of him licking and sucking up all of the red liquid that gave her life that seeped out.

He ripped his mouth away from her chest tinted crimson. Her open gasping mouth was easy to conquer with his. Amara tasted her own metallic essence as his tongue swirled around hers. He swallowed her moans when he angled his hips to hit a spot she thought was a myth.

The rapid, consistent pounding against her newly discovered spot had her nails claw into the textile that covered his chest. Her legs that had been loosely wrapped around his pelvis shifted against his statuesque silhouette. She sought for the toe curling, leg trembling, back arching euphoric feeling of release by grinding her hips the fabric of his pants.

He broke the smoldering kiss just as the burning in her lungs became unbearable. She felt high from the lack of oxygen to her brain and the choking gasps accompanied with her heaving chest didn't make matters better. It only spread electrifying pins and needles from Amara's head to her toes.

Both of his hands found purchase on the full cheeks of her backside. Grasp so tight the discomfort that would have been felt didn't affect her. This man knew what her body craved which was why she dismissed this as being real in any way.

In her dream state Amara embolden, moved her hands to the glacial face of her fictional lover, and pulled the domineering man back to her lips. His taste addicting she tried to fight the muscle in his mouth for control. A desperate mewl escaped her having lost the battle.

White stars clouded her vision as she approached the impending explosion that's built up. He felt that she was close and removed a hand from her rear to easily find the hardened pearl. The contact of his appendages to the nub made her walls contract. Amara released a guttural cry as she combusted on the inside.

This was new to her, reaching her release he continued his thrusts not letting her come down from that high peak he placed her at. He tortured her already overstimulated body by taking her again insuring her that she'd never want anyone else. He was going to ruin any chance for any mortal male to claim her.

It was the second time her eyes rolled back into her head that he released a roar that reverberated off the stone walls. His seed pumping into her his head moved to her shoulder, and right when he went to sink his teeth in the exposed, bruised flesh of her neck, she was swallowed in black, gone from the room.

She wouldn't know that her sudden disappearance would end up causing more trouble than she could handle or that the wall her body had just been was decimated. The man having begun the process of something she had no knowledge of, but soon be feeling it affects.

**March 6 th, 2006**

Floating in a black abyss for how long she didn't know. Her body ached in all the right places, but something wasn't right. The absolute nothingness that surrounded her body started to fade away and replacing it was the familiar weight of gravity. Body shifting around on the comfortable surface of the mattress made Amara pop one eye open. The room was still dark and when turning her head she saw Aaron's sleeping form.

'It must still be the middle of the night,' she guessed before making the choice to go back to sleep. This time there were no dreams for her mind to wander to. Amara didn't know how long she slept, but when the smell of breakfast wafted to her nose she was up.

Light filled the room from the two rather large windows on the other side of the room. Having not paid attention to much of anything last night, she took in the earth tones and the small amount of decorations in the room. Pulling the covers off her body, she sat up on the side of the bed rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

One yawn later and a stretch of her sore muscles she stood up and headed to what looked like an adjoining bathroom. As she walked she felt a stick substance start to seep from her core which caused her to pause, 'We used protection last night, didn't we?' She remembered asking Aaron if he had one. She peered down her body and staggered at what she saw.

Dried blood trailed down the front of her body, originating from her the top of her left areola. Her eyes widened with horror. 'When did this happen,' her brain scrambled through last night, not recalling doing any knife play while awake.

Entering the bathroom she turned on the light and turned to face the mirror. She looked an utter mess with her makeup melted and smeared over her face, hair a tangled rats nest, deep purple bruises littered her body and of course the brown flaky blood. 'We weren't this rough last night, were we? Did I do this to myself?'

Amara unable to make sense of why her body looked the way it did, she pivoted and proceeded to hop into the walk-in shower behind her. Quickly washing off, she thought about the sexual encounter she had last night and how she wasn't very impressed with Aaron's bedroom skill set. Then she thought about her erotic dream and how it felt so real. Even her body ached from the assault her imagination had come up with. She is then reminded that the stranger cut her. 'But that isn't real,' she reasoned. She could admit to being crazy, but not that crazy. What she couldn't grasp is how she got bloodied and bruised.

Stepping out of the bathroom still naked but clean she didn't notice her clothing folded neatly on the end of the bed. 'Aaron must have gathered everything for me, how thoughtful of him,' she smiled. Gracelessly she got dressed in last night's outfit, most of the material covering the blue and purple markings were covered. The only thing not covered was the angry looking hickey on the right side of her neck.

Biting at her bottom lip she left the bedroom with her damp hair hanging down. The hallway to the main rooms of the house wasn't long, so within a few steps she found the man she'd gone home with across the room in front of a stove top. He wore a simple red t-shirt that made his gray hairs stand out and a pair of nice, dark looking jeans. Clearing her throat he looked up from the skillet, broad smile on his face.

“Good morning Beautiful, how'd you sleep,” Aaron asked, wiping his hand off before walking to Amara.

“Mornin',” she shyly looked to her feet, not used to someone calling her beautiful without a caked face of makeup. “I slept pretty good, you?”

A hand swiped the wet hair that had fallen in her face; an, “Oh no,” came from the man in front of her. He tenderly traced down her neck, “I'm so sorry, I didn't think I was this rough last night.”

'But you weren't,' that voice in her head spoke up, 'You actually weren't rough at all.'

The softest, “Shut up,” came from Amara, not wanting to listen to herself right now.

“What?”

“Huh, oh sorry no you're fine. I don't mind really,” she trailed off unsure what to say and also unable to bring herself to ask about the others like it on her person. Another strange thing this morning was that his touch before felt nice, but for some reason made her skin crawl.

“I still shouldn't have hurt you,” concerned Aaron lifted her chin so her eyes met his, “I know last night wasn't the best. It had been very one sided, but if you plan on going out with me again I won't repeat the same mistakes.”

She gave a nod of her head and the corners of her mouth lifted. She was about to say something when the air perfumed with burnt food smell. “Oh crap,” the red headed man ran back to the skillet on the stove, “Well I hope you don't mind crispy bacon.”

Amara couldn't help but chuckle about the misfortune of the breakfast. She was pleasantly surprised that a man, after having, essentially, a one-nightstand, made her breakfast the day after. “Is there anything I can do to help,” she offered.

“Would you get our drinks ready? I got juice and milk in the refrigerator,” Aaron said with his back to her.

She asked what he wanted and poured him a glass of milk and orange juice and herself just juice. It wasn't long till he was setting their plates on the table. The first bite had Amara complimenting Aaron on his culinary skills which he thanked her for. They ate in a comfortable silence with only the sound of the silverware touching the glass plates.

“Thank you for breakfast, it was really nice.”

Aaron grabbed the dirty plates before she had a chance to, “Even with the burnt bacon?”

“Ha yeah, though burning bacon is sacrilege,” she chortled.

Instead of just watching Aaron wash the mess that was made from cooking she helped him by drying and putting the dishes up. Granted she would have to stop him every time to ask where things went. They conversed like old friends. Talking about meaningless things as they complete the domestic task.

Amara looked at the time on the clock and hissed, “Shit it's already eleven? I need to go home. Got work today.”

Aaron sighed, “Man time flies by when you're having fun.”

She quieried a brow, “You call doing dishes fun?”

“No, I call being in your company while doing the dish entertaining. I'd never known why the Vikings gave their wounded strong onion soup to see if their stomachs were perforated. Conserving their medicine for the ones that had a chance of surviving.”

She said over her shoulder as they walked out of the house and toward his truck, “That's me, chock full of fun facts.”

She reached her door first, but Aaron was right behind her to open it. 'Still a gentleman,' she tried being positive. There was a small stinging pain in her chest out of the blue. She took a deep breath in an attempt to alleviate the pain, but it did nothing. 'What brought this on?'

During the ride to her place she concentrated on just breathing through what she was feeling. Aaron tried holding a conversation with her, but all of her replies were kept short. When they pulled into her drive she bolted out of the truck and said she'd call him later. With nimble hands she had her door unlock and locked with her pressed against the door in near agony.

'Am I having a heart attack?'

Breaths coming in pants, she tossed everything in hand on her sofa. She pried at her dress feeling constricted by the form fitting top. Pawing at her back she found the pesky zipper and tore at it. Thankfully the dress wasn't damaged in the process of her practically ripping it off. Standing in her underwear

'I'm so fucking hot,' a burning sensation spread across her body, limb to limb. Amara went to her ice box and opened its door to have cool air caress her flamed skin. Shallow breaths escaped her now over salivating mouth as nausea hit. 'Oh no,' she panicked, slamming the door shut and rushing to her toilet in the nick of time.

She gagged over the commode, and spat out spit that accumulated in her mouth. Her figure drenched in sweat, she peeled the remainder of her clothing from her body and stepped into her shower. Twisting the cold nob on she sputtered and gasped for breath when the chilled temperature engulfed her.

Amara's head rested against the cold tile of her shower just breathing. Praying to whoever that this burning would stop. What brought this on she questioned again. Everything had been fine up until she dreamed last night. Thinking of that dream and the man that took her so aggressively against a wall seemed to have slowed her rapid breaths. The searing heat that had taken over slowly receded as she thought of his icy touch upon her. His hard lips pressed against hers and the dominating kiss they shared.

The fiery pain of the intense heat and the need to vomit lessened leaving her shivering underneath the shower head. She waited at least five minutes before cutting the water off. She carefully stepped out a sopping wet mess to get a towel she forgot to get out in her panic. Wrapping a towel around both her head and body she left her bathroom on trembling legs.

She made a b-line to her room and plopped on her back over the cottony top of her bed, towel falling open. Her skin a blaze and fevered mind didn't have the ability to center on anything except one. Eyes closed, she saw the lethal visage of the fallen angel. His deathly cold touch gliding over her sweltering flesh, the thought sending goose bumps to spread.

His large hands tweaked her sensitive buds. Amara sucked in her lower lip to bite, her finger tips mimicking what was in her mind as best as she could. She fantasizes his mouth sucking on her left breast with her blood coating his mouth. The figment sound of him pulling his head back from her only to latch on to its partner.

She wished that he'd bite her tender peak and with the hand not occupied with her previously wet nipple to make its way between her clam shell folds. His long fingers ghost over her little bundle of nerves. She needed the feeling of him entering her dripping passage. The digits curving in a come hither motion, rubbing the secret nerve endings inside her.

Her legs tense, but her hips gyrate up and down as she works on a release she somehow knew only he could give her. Behind closed eyes his mouth trailed passionate kisses down the valley of her breast, over her squishy stomach, to one inner thigh then the other before finally landing on where she needed attention most.

Mouth opened from the small gasps of breath and moans escaping her, Amara could almost feel his lips enclose around her. Kissing the lovebud in the most intimate way, his fingers still deep within her channel. She felt herself tighten around her fingers and kept rubbing that spot within. A whimpered moan came from her at the moment she thought of him entering her with his impressive member.

She laid there on her bed, mind finally clear and the uncomfortable feeling gone. It took her a moment or two before she got up. She wrapped the huge towel back around her and headed to clean up.

Drying off her hands, Amara defiantly didn't feel up to working today, so she slowly made her way to the unused landline in the kitchen. Dialing Luke's number she waited patiently for him to pick up. On about the third ring she was going to hang up when a, “Hey Ami,” came through the receiver.

“Hey Luke-”

“Have a good time last night?”

Him cutting her off aggravated the already shaken woman. “Yeah wonderful time. Anyways I'm not feeling to well and-”

“You're not just now getting home? Sex on the first date, Amara, imagine what people will say,” Luke ridiculed not able to hold back his amusement.

“If you'd stop interrupting me for a damn second I'd be able to say I'm not coming in today,” her annoyance from not feeling well made her snap at him.

“Jeez, Ami, you must feel like crap considering you're only bitchy when you do.”

“I ain't bitchy,” she exclaimed.

“Hmm whatever you say,” Luke clearly did not agree.

“Look I'll be in tomorrow. See ya then,” she slammed the headset down before he could say anything else.

She took off her glasses to run a hand over her face. “What the fuck is going on,” she groaned. Not understanding why her body seemed to react this way. Amara stepped over to her pills and took the morning dose, once again having missed the dose for the previous night.

'Maybe I shouldn't miss my doses anymore,' she thought as the last time she did she had had another strange dream with the dark haired man. Envisioning him sent a shiver down her damp spine. Her imagination wondered how he'd be like as a lover. Would he be as authoritative and wild as the snow haired man or be tender and tame?

Cutting her mind off from going too far down the rabbit hole, Amara dried off any water droplets that still graced her meaty bones. Not bothering to comb her hair till it was drier she hung up the soaked towels. In her room she shoved a thin shirt over her head and a pair of comfy underpants on.

She felt the addictive need for nicotine in her system and walked to her black clutch that was still on her couch. Grabbing the half empty pack, her wobbly legs carried her outside. The cool area and the pitter-patter and scent of the rain soothing. She could help but let her mind wander back to when she was cut in her dream and the feeling of him greedily lapping up the trickling red essence, the push and pull of him suckling away as if his life depended on the plasma.

She took a long drag off the cigarette as her body felt hot once more but in another way entirely. Amara rubbed her thighs together hoping pressure would make this feeling more bearable. 'Maybe if I go to sleep again, he can help with her current situation,' she exhaled smoke through her nose at that. The breeze in the storm caused rain to mist on to her distracting her momentarily.

Extinguishing what was left of the cigarette she disappeared inside. Finding the silence of the trailer unsettling she went to her spare room and flipped the stereo on to the last thing she'd listened to. The burned disc, with somewhat illegally obtained music, consisted of a mixture of eighties and nineties songs.

She picked her favorite book from the shelf and took it to her desk. She did feel up to rolling anything so instead she filed the one pipe she had. She lifted the glass to her mouth and lit the green top of the bowl. The pungent aroma scented the air as she released the toke she'd taken. In one puff she felt the calming effects of the green leafed plant.

Taking a few more hits she let the floating cloud like feeling spread over her, welcoming it. She got up to light an incense returning to the chair swiftly. Picking up a pencil she opened the spiral that held pieces of the inner workings of her mind, to a random page. Her hand unsteady as she copied the dark eyed man in his frenzied disposition. Hair as wild as the look in his eyes, but his face still held control as if he wore a mask.

Amara eyed the drawing and his possessive stance, 'Why would I ever dream of a man like him? He isn't even my type.' She stoned mind's wheels started turning, 'Why is it that when I dream it's when I miss a dosage? Could they be one in the same?'

She had been on medication for years now that helped with her high manias, low depressions, the hallucinations and restless nights. She'd been through quite a few different types, each name more difficult than the last. This last year is when she had switched to Divalproex and Risperidone after Lithium didn't work out. The first was for her mood and the second for the rest. She didn't have anything for the overwhelming anxiety that could consume her, so she took other methods in hand.

Amara had noticed a difference in certain aspects of how she reacted to things, but it had always been a struggle not reverting to old habits. Part of her will always want to be able to live without the need to take pills to function. Just her luck to forever be cursed with a chemical imbalance in her brain.

'What if I didn't take the night ones on purpose,' she pondered before automatically feeling that it was a bad idea.

Her left hand went to her breast to trace the tender scratch. If she could see her face, she'd see it was contorted with confusion till a disturbing thought crossed her mind, 'He cut me in my dream and I woke up with a cut.

I woke up with a cu-.'

'Dear fucking lord did you seriously just come to realize this,' the part that was normally medicated away broke Amara's concentration. 'You do understand what this means, right?'

“I'm going crazy.”

'Well you are talking to yourself so I'd say, yep.'

Her gaze bore in her poor rendition of the beautiful man, “It can't be. I don't want to even give life to the idea that, maybe, just maybe, what happens in my dreams have an effect on me in the waking world.”

'What about when you were a kid?'

“We ain't going there,” her hands rubbed her temples, “Nope! No, no happy-go-lucky stroll down memory lane. Thanks.”

'Look at the scars on you. Remember the ones you didn't do to yourself? Give me an explanation of them.'

She was getting irked and became defensive. She didn't want to remember. All she could recall was that those memories, especially the terrifying ones and Amara always pitied her younger self for experiencing them. The medication was taken for a reason.

Everyone just thought she caused all the accidents that happened to her. No matter what Amara had said, every cut, scrape and bruise where all self inflicted. All she could do was tell stories and hell she had convinced herself of it too. That everything was just things her mind made up and she would just continue to be ostracized for speaking about what has happened to her.

Admitting that everything was real, Amara felt she'd break, any normal person would. “I can't survive if it's all real,” she whispered.

'You can do this. I wouldn't be suggesting this if I felt we'd be harmed. Besides years of therapy helped you with that demon long ago,' chimed in her wrinkled central organ.

In her desk chair she let the walls in her head crumble and let the weight of what she kept behind them wash over. Not all were horrifying, most were of adventures in the wilderness, but the one that had her sobbing was when she'd been trying to avoid for years. Even now revisiting it she didn't want to recollect the details.

She looked at her hands grounding herself. She isn't that helpless kid anymore. “I won't let what happened to me rule over me,” she affirmed to herself, years of doing so had already done enough damage.

'So this man is real. Is he even human,' she questioned, but had a strong feeling she knew what the answer was already. She flipped through the sketch pad till she found her drawing of the other man. 'That means he's real too,' she felt her heart skip a beat remembering how he had held her.

Her mind clouded with lust and she felt a pull on her chest. Standing from the desk she ran to her room and through on some jeans and a black baggy hoodie. She felt a pull to go outside. Exiting the back door, she drew her hood and walked off the back porch. Her feet, having a mind of their own, took her to the woods that surrounded the backside of the trailer park.

She walked for a good five minutes being aware of her surroundings so she would be able to find her way back. Over the light sprinkling of rain she heard a snapping of fallen limbs to her right. Her head shifted in the direction only for her eyes to be met with red ones.

The man was taller than her by a good five or more inches. His skin was a sickly looking olive tone and he had black hair pulled back. His physique lanky, but the aura of a predator radiated from him. He wore a black formal suit with black leather gloves. Amara's wide eyes flicked back up to his cold burgundy gaze that had her heart pumping.

“My master's require your presence.”


	5. Memento Mori

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I did a thing. I wasn't happy with the end of Chapter 5 and decided to rewrite it. I took the advice of a lovely reviewer, KaityCameleon, and am happier with the results. So for chapters 5 and 6 I'm dedicating them to her and hope you all enjoy.
> 
> Your Sex is the Scar - Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio

**March 6 th, 2006 9:00 am CET**

  
  


The most ruthless of the three coven leaders was walking at his normal pace through the many halls of the castle. On his way to the throne room were he and his brothers passed judgment onto imbecilic unlawful subjects. The place where most times they took their meals. It was rare if they met there for anything else. He didn't know why but this morning he felt as if he was needed there.

Caius didn't know how to react to seeing the unclothed woman for the first time. What he saw was unexpected, to say the least. His tastes were leggy, slender, natural, take his wife for an example. What he saw was a practically bald, imperfect human woman covered in all types of scars, tattoos and piercings, 'Was this to be their mate?'

He couldn't comprehend it. She wasn't what he would normally be enticed by though his beast was enraptured. She had stumbled to the ground upon hearing him enter the room and he had flitted over to her. The idea of her hurting or being hurt displeased him greatly. The way she looked sprawled over the steps reminded him of a Renaissance era painting he'd seen many years ago.

The only thing was he caught the scent of another male mixed with her own. He didn't realize he was growling or that he had taken hold of her fragile form and roughly had her pressed against a wall till his head neared her exposed neck. He halted his movement to question, this woman who is supposed to belong to them.

“Who touched you?”

His eyes picking up on how her body shivered from his irate tone. When her chest expanded, rubbing against his. He rumbled so low that she didn't hear, but he heard her enjoyment of what he couldn't guess. It only caused his frustration to flare. This time more callous, “Answer me woman. Tell me who dared to claim what's not theirs.”

He pressed further into her trembling form as the offender's name slipped past her somewhat plum stained lips, “A-Aaron.”

Caius felt his lip curl in disgust, the thoughts of draining the man dry calmed down the raging beast inside just barely, “And did this Aaron fulfill his quest?”

It was hard to keep control of the animal inside who was furious with the thought of not owning her. His mouth hovered over her pulse point where a meager bruise started to form. 'This man thought he could mark her! That will not do,' he raged. His mouth bite down soft enough to not break the skin, but hard enough to engulf the tiny blemish with one of his own. He sucked and pulled at her skin, growing more bestial from cries his mate unleashed.

His hands gripped at her warm flesh before roaming over her lush body, feeling the uneven skin underneath his finger tips. His mouth detached from the now tender skin of her neck with a hunger.

“Speak,” he demanded whilst planting kisses just below her ear.

“I-I don't know w-what ya mean,” her reply staggered from his assault. Without any struggle he had her legs wrapped around his waist, the wall and his body the only thing keeping her off the ground. Her arms had braced themselves against his chest, hands firmly grasping the silken suit jacket.

“Do you belong to him,” he must know if her heart was free for the taking.

He watched the snarl form on his mates oval face and the fire flare within the orbs to her soul, “I belong to no one.”

Knowing that delighted Caius for he was about to show her to whom she belonged. His hand left its spot on her hips, drifting to the warmth between her thighs. He couldn't suppress the chortle while doing so, “Oh how wrong you are, young one.”

The sound she made when his cold fingers teased her hooded cleft. Bracing her with his waist and the wall, he removed his solid length from the confines of his trousers with the hand not buried deep inside the mewling woman. His need to claim her was over taking his senses.

His fingers removed themselves from her sweet heat to be quickly replaced with his protruding member at her entrance. Letting gravity help him in his controlled, hard thrust careful not to break the woman. He roared out, “You belong to me and my brothers.” Hips accentuating his words with near hellacious thrusts, hitting her cervix each time.

His eyes closed in utter euphoria from being connected with his human mate. His mouth claimed a bouncing breast, pulling on the barbell piercing she had through the bud. The thought of sinking his teeth in her breakable flesh grew with each pump of her rapidly beating heart. Having the wherewithal to not bite into her, his right hand went to her freely bounding breast and used his sharp nail to produce a decent size gash above the tender nipple.

Ambrosial blood perfumed the air a split second before his mouth latched onto the flowing orb. If he could recall the taste of honey he would estimate that is what her blood tasted of. He groaned as he drank up the sugary crimson liquid that she had to give. He heard an, “Oh fuck,” and felt her glove tighten around his rigid rod, pistoning in and out of her at an easy pace for him.

The pride of giving his mate pleasure swelled in him. His mouth tore from the wounded breast and sealed over hers, consuming her moans. Her warm tongue fighting him for dominance. He scoffed inwardly, there was no way he'd let her win. He held her mouth captive till she no longer could withstand the oxygen deprivation.

She had been seeking out her pleasure by moving against him in an attempt to keep up. A smirk grew on his slim face as his hand found her meaty backside. His grip bruising just like his pace, he shifted them to an angle that had her singing to his heightened ears.

He let her slender hands draw his head down into a searing kiss. It was his delectation that she didn't seem to submit so easily. He could, without difficulty, continue his never ending ravishment, but he could feel that his mate was drawing near her completion by her pulsating grip. Retracting a hand from her meaty rump it went straight to the apex of her thighs.

The combination of her vocalized satisfaction, warm fluttering walls, and an unnecessary need to wreck any chance for a mortal to state her, Caius pushed through her spasming velvet interior. He rubbed her bundle and drove into her relentlessly. 'I will make her come apart,' his beast growled as his salvation approached.

His eyes watched hers roll back before closing completely, mouth agape in a silent cry and the feeling of her second climax drew out his own with a roar. Her channel filled with his venom laced seed as he descended to sink his teeth into her neck. She needed to be turned. He didn't want to lose what was his. As his jowls clamped down all he was met with was air.

The warm, weighted female was no longer clinging around his being. Hysteria consumed the elder vampire as he smashed the wall in front of him. His mate slipped from their grasp yet again. His vision still red as he tucked himself back into the confines of his pants in time for his brother to enter.

Marcus took one look at the wall, the disheveled state of Caius' to know something important just occurred. The young appearing king sniffed the air, growling from the fragrance of their mate's arousal and blood permeating around them. It only took Marcus a millisecond to pounce his brother, wrath morphed his usual calm features.

Caius though an inch shorter than his brother, held his ground well as they collided, already furious from before. The two leaders viciously and rapidly attack each other in their ferocious states. One worried that their mate was hurt by his brother while the other raged about her disappearing. Each landed skin cracking blows to the other both they were thrown apart by a newcomer.

The very ambitious man had heard a commotion going on after his phone call with his favored tracker. He was about to seek out his coven mates when he heard the fighting happening in their throne room. Moving close to the speed of light, Aro came upon the two men he was about to look for on a collision course into each other.

Speeding in between them he shoved each one of them in the opposite direction to which they came. Each man snarled at the wide eyed man that intervened in their fight. Aro just looked at his brothers as if nothing was wrong. It was when he inhaled that he had an inkling as to what the dispute was about. 'Their mate was here again. Oh, how delightfully intriguing,' the half insane man thought.

“Fighting over our mate already? Tsk, tsk brothers,” Aro teasingly reprimanded them, “You'd think we'd be good at sharing by now.”

Marcus ignored Aro, focusing his heated gaze on Caius, “Did you harm our mate?”

“Do you really think I'd do that,” Caius snapped, offended that anyone would think he'd hurt her in that way, “Anything I did she welcomed it. Did you lose your intelligence when you lost your will to live?”

“What am I supposed to think when her blood stains your face,” came Marcus' booming voice, he disregarded Caius' ill jape.

“I didn't get the chance to bite her if that is what worries you. I just had a taste while claiming her. It seemed another had tried to,” Caius spoke evenly through clenched teeth. 'I will kill all who had touched her before me and take pleasure in doing so,' he thought venomously.

This time it was Aro to show his displeasure, “And turn our mate when she is so far from us? Think rationally Caius.”

Caius turned to the greedy man he called brother, “So far away? You know where she is.”

“I was on my way to give you the joyous news, but what I find the two of you brawling over her and that she was here once more. It's very interesting to be in two places at once.” Two pairs of eyes stared at the man who held the information they so dearly needed. “You'll never guess where she is, of all places,” he paused gleaming, waiting for one of his companions to guess where. When it grew obvious they weren't he simply answered, “In a lovely small town named Forks.”

“How were we to have guessed that, Aro,” Caius' annoyance prevalent.

“So she's in the Olympic coven's territory,” Marcus muttered his thought process on the lines of the fastest way to her now.

The fair haired man made a noise of discontent, “Our mate is in the grasp of those pathetic excuses for vam-”

“Must you insult my friends, Brother,” Aro cutting in before the man could finish, “I figured I'd get in touch with Carlisle and see if he'd watch over her until we can get her.”

“Why wait to go get her? I've already started the process of binding her to us. We need to act now,” Caius stated with full conviction. He already felt the pull in the direction of their mate; though it was discomforting, her being so far away, he showed no signs of it.

Aro didn't want to admit how jealous he was that their mate hadn't appeared before him. Of course getting to her was of the utmost importance, but the power she was showing made him cautious. 'What if she vanishes when we have her within our reach,' he couldn't afford that happening. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a human receptionist knocking on the ajar door.

She spoke in Italian, softly letting her Aro know that he had Demetri on line one. The human attempted to make a quick exit, but Caius' mouth was wrapped around her neck draining her instantly of life. Marcus sneered at Caius for his blood thirsty actions, but sympathized as well. The man did just have intercourse with their mate and didn't drain her at least.

The two men followed Aro to his office where he took the call. Lifting the receiver to his ear the guard spoke, “Master, we have a problem.”

“And what could that possibly be,” Aro's voice light but a storm began to brew.

The man on the other side of the phone seemed almost hesitant to answer, “There seems to be wolves patrolling around the area. I've been chased from her location.”

“Wolves,” exasperated Caius, “As in werewolves?”

“Not entirely sure, Master. They don't look like normal werewolves. Just abnormally larger wolves,” there was a pause, “there seems to be a pack of them guarding the peninsula.”

Aro deliberated only for a moment, “You're priority is to protect the female. No harm is to come to her. If you must keep your distance and lose the mongrels.”

“Yes, Master,” came through before the phone was hung up. Not sparing a glance to the other men in the room, Aro dialed the number from his address book on top of his desk. It took one and a half rings before the call was answered.

“Aro, my old friend, you honor me with your call,” came the patience voice of the vampiric doctor, “what can I help you with?”

“Carlisle, so nice to hear you. Hope all is well,” Aro chose his next words carefully, “Do you happen to still be in the Olympic Peninsula region? We've heard disturbing things.”

“We actually moved a few months ago.”

“Oh how disappointing, there seems to be rumors of werewolves around your old territory and I'd so hoped you knew something about it,” Aro expertly gave a half truth.

There was silence over the phone which made Caius grumble about wanting to just go all kill them all, meaning the wolves and maybe even the Cullen Clan. “Aro, they aren't the kind of werewolves you're thinking of,” a long sigh could be heard, “They are a type of shapeshifter. They protect the humans on their land.”

“Protect the humans from what, us,” Caius spoke so lowly that only the three leaders could hear his question.

Marcus paced the length of the office, only wanting her in his arms for an eternity. His ancient mind, though not a warrior like his brother, was speculating how best to get her. He would fight everything the universe had to throw his way if it were for her. “I'm fully prepared to alleviate the threat,” Marcus said, uncaring that the other vampire heard him. He, at this point, would do anything to protect her even if it meant he'd be fighting children of the moon.

“Is that Marcus,” Carlisle inquired, sounding flabbergasted that the man that had been wasting away since before he was created was speaking and even resonated with life.

“Why yes it is him,” Aro beamed at Marcus. He'd been filled with joy having him back.

“Hello, Carlisle,” Marcus greeted evenly.

“Hello, Marcus,” Carlisle being formal before explaining, “My family and I formed a treaty with them long ago. For us to stay there safely we promised to never bite a human on their lands. May I be so bold as to ask why the area is of interest to you?”

“You dare question u-.”

“Caius calm down,” Aro belittled, “There is a female in that territory that happens to be very important to us.”

“Aro don't,” Caius growled at his brother, not enthused with him telling the malnourished vampire about their mate.

Aro gave his fellow leader a glare before continuing, “At least Demetri has tracked her to there, but since you're not there, I guess we'll just have to go instead.”

The sound of something breaking on the other side of the phone resonated in the office. Carlisle coming off as unease, “Do-Do you know who the female is?”

“Of course we know, you should know her, from what I've heard Forks is rather small,” Aro patronized.

“We would love to assist you in anyway possible,” the patriarch of the Cullen family finally speaking after several moments of silence. The three vampires all shared a look everyone's face reading differently, one suspicious, one resentful, and one calculating.

Feigning gratitude, “Splendid. I do look forward to working together my friend,” not waiting for Aro hung up the phone.

“It sounds like he's hiding something,” palms pressed together and his fingers twiddled, “I simply must find out what it is.” Before anyone could protest or speak their concerns, Aro looked between his brothers grinning maniacally taking them by surprise, “Why don't we go and bring her home?”

“That's the best thing you have suggested in ages,” Caius half smirked.

Marcus' eyes lit up, “I agree, it has been a long time since Aro has expressed such a delectable idea. Are you making the calls?”

Aro not amused by his brothers japes huffed, “Who else is going to do it? Besides I'm always welcome for both of your input on everything I say.”

Marcus and Caius shared a knowing glance, each able to detect when Aro is being full of himself. Caius just left the room to go prepare for a battle that he thirsted for. Marcus stayed behind observed Aro, calculating rather its his jealousy or greed causing him to have his temperament.

Placing a hand on Aro's shoulder and one his cheek, “Aro, I'm sure our mate will appear for you and will find you quite pleasing.”

Aro accepted the comfort Marcus gave and reciprocated by placing a kiss to each of his cheeks, “Oh Marcus, how I've missed you. I had often wondered who the true mind reader really was.”

“I'm sorry for being gone for so long,” Marcus simpered, “I vow I will not do it again.”

Silent words passed through the almost identical red eyes. Aro proceeded to make arrangements for their flight, the guard that would be traveling with them and for the ones that will remain. While Marcus left to await the time they would depart. “Soon we will meet again, cuore mio (my heart),” he murmered to the air around him.

**March 6 th, 2006 4:00 pm PST**

Amara stood there, stranger danger blaring loudly in her mind. The hairs on her covered arms stood straight. 'Run? Run!' Her mind proclaimed but her legs were frozen to the spot. She shook her head, “What are you talkin' about? Who'r'ya? I ain't interested in any cults.”

She word vomited out of the pure terror she felt from being alone in the woods with a strange man telling her something about his masters. 'Why'd I come out here,' Amara scolded herself for being so thoughtless. The odd man took two tentative steps in her direction which jump started her legs into mobility. Stumbling in the clunky rain boots she had decided to wear, she made it to the tree a few feet away before the man was in front of her.

Amara let a shrill yelp and fell into the figure. 'How'd he move so fast? I know I'm not the fastest person alive, but even the most athletic people ain't that fast,' her mind able to think where as the rest of her tensed and struggled to get away.

“If you'd just calm down I could explain-”

“Explain what? That yer a psychotic serial killer who's here to sacrifice me to whatever dark entity you worship? No thanks,” Amara panted out as her plump body clumsily pulled back from his torso.

Just as she freed herself from his icy, stone grip a massive animal came from behind her. The big sandy colored beast pounced onto the strange man only to be thrown off. 'Is that a wolf,' Amara's eyes widen at the SUV sized mammal. The sound of multiple paws thudded across the Earth as four more humongous wolves came through the trees and proceeded to run after the blur of a man.

Amara didn't miss a beat, turning in the direction back home she ran as fast as her chunky legs could carry her. The uneven path back to her place, had her nearly eat dirt a few times, but she luckily would catch herself from fumbling. Trailer was insight, her lungs were burning along with her legs. They also felt as if they would give out at any moment. 'Almost there,' she gasp inside her mind.

She bounded up the stairs and was almost in her home when she heard someone call her name. She didn't want to find out who was calling for her. Amara burst through the backdoor and with shaking hands looked it. Her heart pounded so hard she could her the blood pumping in her ears. She went to a draw, grabbing out a clever.

There was a rapping on her door, “Amara, let me in,” she heard the muffled voice. Holding the knife close she went closer to the door, 'That voice sounds familiar.'

“Amarantha, I know your in there! Open up,” the voice louder as they hammered on the metal surface.

'Is that,' she decided to call out, “Luke, is that you?”

“Yes, now open the door,” he sounded in a hurry.

Amara unlocked the locks she had just done. Opening the door wide with the clever raised high in case it wasn't him she paused. “Why are you naked on my porch,” lowering her right hand, she quickly pulled him in with her other and latched the door shut afterwards.

“Look can't explain now, We need to get you to my place now,” he urged, taking the large knife from her hands.

“I ain't leaving my house ever again, Luke! Do you know what the hell is out there,” she heaved and waved her hands around, “there are wolves the size of my car and crazy fast people with red eyes.” She knew she sounded like a lunatic, but this was her person, even though she has always been off, he never judged.

“Amara, I need you to calm down,” Luke having set the sharp object down already, grabbed both of her shoulders. He mimicked deep breaths with her, “Good that's it. Just breath.”

She surprisingly didn't feel discomforted by his touch and in fact welcomed the friendly contact. Amara's worried eyes met his, matching her own in intensity. “I don't know how to tell you this, Ami,” his head hung low, “You're in danger right now and I just need to go along with what I say. Everything will be explained later.”

Amara having never seen Luke this apprehensive, she only nodded her head and went straight to her room. She got out a large suitcase and without really looking just began to stuff it with any clothing items in her reach. Tossing a couple of pairs of shoes on top of the stack of clothes, she closed the bag. She went and found a pair of old stretchy shorts that could fit Luke and called out, “Do you want a pair of my shorts to wear?”

She heard his heavy footsteps come down her hallway. When Luke entered the room he had a back in hand, “This is from your studio.” He handed her the bag and took the clothing from her.

“Its not like I don't mind you being in your birthday suit, but the rest of the world might,” she joked even though she was still panicking within.

He just shook his head while putting on the loose clothing. “I wish I had your sense of humor. Almost ready?”

She nodded, “I just got to gather some toiletries and my meds.”

“They're in the bag, I also got your other 'stuff' in there.”

She thanked him and moved passed him on wobbly legs to her bathroom. She had all of her makeup and toiletries already in one place, so getting everything she would need quickly wasn't a big deal. Amara saw look in the living room area waiting for her with her bags. Grabbing a plain black jacket she put that on before throwing her back over her shoulder. “Taking my car,” she asked unsure exactly how he got there.

He dipped his head to say yes and walked out the front door to load up her car. Amara quickly followed behind him after looking the door and hoped into the drivers seat after everything was is. She looked at Luke questioningly when he didn't get in the passenger seat. He just gave her his award winning smirk, “I'm going to follow you a different way.”

Still having no understanding of what exactly was going on, Amara turned the key in Ol' Betsie and sped out of the trailer park. The deep sound of Till Lindemann's voice from her CD player filled the cab, helping distracted her from the outside world that zoomed past her. She didn't want to look anywhere but the road, out of fear of what she might see.

The journey to Luke's home was quite a lengthy drive. Amara went through the forested area with her hands gripped tightly to the stirring wheel. As she pulled up to the cabin like home the familiar tune of Du Hast was playing. She cut the vehicle off and reluctantly step outside it into the misty evening. Paranoia had her looking all around her as she got her things out.

With luggage in hand she made a dash for the wood door. She was thankful and cursing Luke in the same breath for never locking his front door. Inside she moved to the left side of the room and placed her things on his kitchen table. His home, with the help of his mother and her, took on a very country aesthetic. Being here was always comforting and right now with the unknown outside she needed the accommodation.

“Amara,” called Luke through the door, “Will you unlock the door?”

'Oops,' she must have locked it on the way in. She opened the heavy door, “Sorry, its habit.”

He didn't give her a moment to move before his arms encircled her and gave her a bone crushing hug. His head buried in hair muffled the, “I could have lost you today.”

She returned the affectionate hug from her friend, loving how he smelt of the Earth and something else. 'Is that wet dog,' she sniffed him again. “Luke,” she said his name hoping that he would ease up on his grip. Claustrophobia started to set in when she was unable to inhale proper breaths, “Luke, I can't breath,” she strangled out. Once he loosened his arms she drew in much needed air.

“Sorry, I still don't know my own strength,” he gave a small lopsided grin.

She couldn't restrain from returning the expression before her face became more sobering. “What was that out there and why were you naked in the woods? Can you imagine what the trailer parks going to be cackling about,” she grilled then gave her best impersonation, “'Did you see that fat satanist and indian man, naked as the day he was born, comin from them woods, Billie-Jean? Sure did, Uncle Daddy, musta been doing one them rituals,'” she even added in a fake spit noise at the end.

Luke couldn't help but laughed at how over dramatic she could be and just let her continue her. He let Amara pace around his kitchen while he slide on a pair of his pants he had laying around. It wasn't until she finished her ranting about her day so far that Luke finally spoke. “I'm going to get into a lot to trouble for this,” he began with his head hung low, “But I can't let anything happen to you, Ami. That man you saw with the red eyes is a leech. It sucks the blood of humans to stay alive and he was after you.”

“What,” her brain not processing the information. He shock his head, “Do you recall the second time we hooked up?”

“What does us hooking up have to do with this,” she shrugged her shoulders and looked at her friend, begging for him to start making since.

“Not that part,” he huffed, “the part before it. Do you remember the stories I told you around the bonfire about the tribes?”

“Yeah I remember you talking about both your mom's and dad's tribe, but its been a few years so I don't remember them exactly,” she admitted after scouring her tense mind.

He walked toward his living room, to which Amara followed. “What can you remember about my dad's side?”

“Hmm,” she sat down on his suede couch, “Was it something to do with changing into bears to protect the they're people?”

He took a seat on the wooden coffee table in front of her, “Do you pay attention to anything?” His warm eyes showed his amusement, but his tone somber. She shrugged again muttering, “Well if you hadn't distracted me that whole night with your attractive face then maybe I would've remembered better.”

“You find me attractive,” he wiggled his eyebrows in a, 'Lets get it on,' fashion.

Amara smacked his arm and giggled, forgetting the serious topic for a second. “Of course I do but you already knew that, Jerk. Now back to the subject at hand, why do I need to remember this?”

“I've been lying to you for a while now,” he started to which she interrupted him with a, “Tell me about it.”

He gave he a glare before trying to continue. He looked like a war raged on with in him. Amara, seeing his struggle, leaned forward and placed a hand on his clinched fist in his lap. Luke released an aggressive growl, “Its all true.” His breathing was struggled so his next part was grunted out, “the legends about my father's people, about the wolves and the Cold Ones.”

His form slunk down, arms braced against his muscular thighs as Amara stared blankly in the distance. The term Cold Ones rang a bell to her. That chilled night on the beach came to mind, were they talked over a few drinks and a blazing fire. How Luke spilled the top secret legends of the Quileute tribe were as she gave up her family's dirty secrets without care.

Amara also remembered them getting sucked into a debate about the Cold Ones, and if they were what they assumed to be vampires and if werewolves and vampires existed. She grinned because not long after they're hour long heated discussion it led to them having impromptu coitus on the beach. The grin was quickly swept away, 'Wait did he just say that its real?'

'Oh God please no..'

“Luke, you cain't be serious,” her voice trembled.

He stood up and pulled Amara to stand along with him. Her hand in his he tugged on her to follow, “Lets go outside. I'll show you.”

“No,” Amara resisted him, “If I go outside then it means it's real. That it's all real.” She plopped herself back on the couch. 'If werewolves and vampires are real and my dreams are real, then that means..'

“Am I missing something,” Luke knelt down to her.

“Goddamn it, Luke,” her panicking blue eyes looked in his, her hands gripped his in desperation, “I've fucked up.”


	6. Dazed and Confused

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being gone for so long. I ended up being unhappy with Chapter 5 and took the advice of a lovely reviewer and rewrote the ending of it. You're defiantly going to need to go reread Chapter 5 to understand this one and am sorry for the inconvenience. I'm happier with the end product though and am glad to present to you Chapter 6. 
> 
> Ps: I'm dedicating Chapters 5 and 6 to KaityCameleon for the lovely feed back and appreciate everyone who has reviewed so far.
> 
> Song: The Forest by The Cure

_Her bare feet sliced across the sharp rocky ground through scrub brush and occasion oak tree. Heart in her throat she could barely keep her child sized legs from stumbling. The snorting and grunting of her pursuers not far behind her. She did not know how she got here, but what she did know was that she was in deep trouble._

_Terrified eyes jutted around the barely lit countryside, hoping to spot anything she could easily climb. The noises of the angry beasts grew louder in her search. In a last stitch effort the small human chose a tree that she threw herself on. Her tiny hands held dearly on to the branches desperate to pull herself up before the wild creatures descend on her. As she was pulling up she felt the searing pain of a tusk meeting her lower inner thigh on one leg and the upper calf on the other._

_She screamed from the tearing of her skin almost dropping herself to the hard jagged ground. Her bleeding feet found the tree's trunk which helped her start to scale up it. She blindly grabbed onto another one of the tree's branches and cried out when a thorn pierced through her palm. A wild boar rammed into the trunk just below her feet causing her to scurry. Persevering through the pain of the slices on her feet, gash and gouge on her legs, and now thorn pricked hands, she climbed higher into the mesquite tree to get further from the swine._

_Her whole body shook up in that prickly tree on a cool summer night. Heart still pounding rapidly she began to cry but not from the impending pain. Her child mind could not handle the trauma of what she had just endured. She did not understand how she went to sleep and woke up here. All she could do was whimper and call out for her mother. She felt herself begin to become lethargic. Black spots clouding her vision, the child passed out still clinging onto the only thing protecting her from death._

_“Ami! Amarantha,” the hoarse voice of the child's grandmother exclaimed, “Good Lord Almighty, what happened,” as her eyes took in the disheveled and bloody sight. “Amarantha, wake up. Jerry? Jerry! Get in here!”_

_The older woman picked up the pale child from her blood covered sheets not having the patience to wait on her husband to get in there. She moved as fast as her aching bones would let her. Her old heart working overtime with the exertion and trepidation._

_“Elizabeth, what is with all this yell- What's wrong,” the older man's tone immediately changed as he neared his wife._

_“I don't know,” she tried not to sound as alarmed as she did, “We need to go to the hospital, now Jerry.”_

_Her husband quickly led the way to the carport, holding the doors open for her while she carried her eight year old granddaughter. Jerry opened the backseat door for her after which she handed the child to him. Elizabeth quickly sat in the back and had Amarantha handed to her. “Go get Jasmine,” she told her husband, calling out, “Quickly,” as he left to do so._

_In her arms, the child stirred, one eye barely opening, “Mama?”_

_“I'm here, Ami. I'm here,” the elderly woman said as she grabbed a blanket they kept in the car and applied pressure to where she believed her granddaughter was bleeding. “I need you to stay awake, Doodlebug, okay?”_

_“Hmm,” came the kid's voice, her eye shutting all the way._

_“Amarantha,” she heard the urgent call of her mother's voice before black overcame her once more._

**March 6 th, 2006 5:12 pm PST**

Amara's head hung low while the hand that laid upon her thigh, clenched over the familiar deep set groove. Her friend paced before her mulling over what she had just told him. She had just laid everything out. Every dream she's had, all the details of the men she saw and even the intimate moments she shared. He stopped once or twice as if to say something, but continued to walk a hole into his carpet. 'What must he think of me now,' she hoped his opinion of her hadn't changed.

'If he is what he says he is then you slept with the enemy,' the nagging voice crept its way forward. 'Of course he'll never think of you the same.'

Amara clenched her eyes shut trying in vain to not cry in front of Luke. Losing his friendship would surely throw her over the edge. She had no one left. Call her selfish, but she wanted to keep her friend to herself. Stifling a sniffle and hiccup, she held her breath in order to stop the pitiful sounds from coming out as tears leaked from her lidded eyes.

“Ami, why are you crying,” Luke, having moved to stand before her, lifted her head to wipe away the tears.

“B-Because I-I slept w-with a vam-vampire and n-now you w-won't want a-anything to do w-with me,” Amara hiccuped out between sobs. She felt like a baby right now and she didn't care. The world was being quite harsh on her as of late and the bottle she had been storing all of her emotions poured out.

“Oh Ami, you big tit. I'm not leaving you because you were seduced by a leech. You're my best friend and I love you. Nothing will ever take me away from you,” he reassured her before pulling her into another embrace, allowing her to cry her eyes out on his bare chest.

'See you were wrong. Not everyone leaves,' happy to prove the voice wrong.

When her crying died down to mire sniffles she mumbled, “Even if I killed someone and need your help hiding the body?”

He threw his head back, a boisterous laugh heaved from his gut. He brought a hand to his eye to wipe a tear from his eye, “Yes even if I had to help you get rid of the body and provide the alibi.”

She shook her head, a melancholic smile graced her tear stained face. “So,” he pulled back from her, “You teleport?”

She hadn't thought of it like that, actually she really didn't have much time to think about it at all. She shrugged as her answer, hoping to steer him from questioning for how long she returned the question, “So you turn into a giant dog?”

“Wolf,” he corrected her.

“Is there really a difference,” she looked at him doubtfully.

“Come on,” Luke said, taking her out his back door with no resistance from her this time. He made her stay on the back porch with his shorts and walked quite a bit away from the house. She stared at his bare backside enjoying the view until he turned to face her direction. Amara listened and watched as his bones cracked and grew; his body morphed into one of the gigantic wolves she saw earlier in the matter of seconds.

His fur was a blend of black, grey and white and his eyes the color of ice. Amara took slow steps off the porch to where Luke now stood on all fours hoping he was still in control of his body. She reached out tentatively and hoovered before his snout to wait for permission to pet him. He took a step forward and nudged her hand with his nose. Amara pet his head before instinctively scratched behind his ear causing his back leg to shake a bit.

“Is that an itchy spot for you,” Amara began to scratch harder before moving down his right side, Luke being too tall for her to reach his spine comfortably, “You're just a big baby, aren't ya?”

She heard Luke snort as she made her way down to the base of his tail where she really dug her nails in. He sat down almost immediately and his head lopped to the side to stare at her. “What,” she said to her animal friend, “You can't tell me this doesn't feel good.”

He shook his head, clearly not amused with her dog treatment. Luke whined at her before licking her face leaving slobber all over the right side. “Eh,” she wiped the back of her arm to get as much of it off, sarcastically saying, “If you want to swap spit can we do it in while human, please.”

Amara cringed at the sound of him shifting back. As he stood before her she couldn't help but ask, “On the scale of one to ten, how much does that hurt?”

His voice gravelly, “After the first fifty times you become numb to it.”

The air picked up as they walked back to his house causing Amara to shiver. She was in desperate need of a dry cloth to clean off her dirty lens and a warm blanket to get rid of the frost bite she was feeling. Inside the heated house Amara went straight to his kitchen and used a towel to clean her glasses. “So how long have you been,” her voice trailed off, unsure on what to call it.

“Transforming into a wolf? You nailed it the other day,” Luke said with his shorts still in his hands, “it was a few days after the Cullens skipped town.”

He slipped on the pair of shorts as she went to get her things off the table, “Where will I be staying?”

Luke was behind her grabbing the other bag, “Either you can have the guestroom or stay with me in mine.”

She sighed while shaking her head, 'Always the flirt,' “I'll stay in the guestroom for now.”

Amara followed him through his living room and up the stairs to the only closed door on the upper floor. He pushed the door open after turning the knob letting Amara walk in the sage green room first. She set her main bag on the bed and turned toward Luke, “So what am I going to do?”

“Change into some dry clothes,” he suggested, purposefully ignoring what she meant. He set the other bags on the dresser across from the bed.

“You know that's not what I'm talking about,” her arms crossed over her chest and her right leg shook involuntarily. She has never been this lost on what to do and she had literally been lost in the middle of nowhere before.

“I've got to go to the elders and take any punishment they decide to deal out.”

“Why would you be punished?”

Luke gave her a tight lipped smile, but his eyes looked anywhere but her, “I was ordered not to tell you, specifically. The alpha's orders aren't meant to be broken and I did because I couldn't let you get killed.”

“I don't like that you'll be punished because of me. It's not right,” Amara uncomfortable with the thought of her friend being reprimanded for her. In her eyes she wasn't worth all the hassle, she honestly welcomed death. Amara also wouldn't tell Luke that, he wouldn't understand why. She was too vain to end her own life, but she wasn't afraid of the grim reaper. 'Let him come for me, I've been ready for the end since I was eleven,' she dared as she thought about the red eyed men.

“Let me come with you.”

“No,” Luke said over his shoulder as he was leaving the room. He sounded firm in his decision, but that didn't deter Amara.

“I'm going with you. You're in trouble because of me and I'll get you out of it,” she said defiantly as she walked to catch up to him. His long strides took two steps at a time where she had to sprint down them.

“Amara, I'm not budging on this. You need to stay here. If the Elders and Alpha want you there then I'll bring you, but until then I need you to stay here and not go outside,” he paused in his pursuit outside causing Amara to run straight into his back, releasing an “Oomph” as she fell backwards.

“Oh sorry, I didn't realize you were so close,” Luke helped the bigger woman off the last step of the stairs, “there will be patrols all over this area so no thing should be able to make it to you.”

Amara recovering from her tumble, rubbed her sore backside with a grimace on her face, “I still don't like this, Luke.”

“You've said that,” he gave her upper arms a squeeze before releasing her, “we'll get all of this sorted out, I promise.”

“Fine,” she stomped her foot like a child, “go, but when you get back you're explaining everything to me.”

“Deal.”

Luke stripped out of his shorts and handed them once more to Amara, “I won't need these.” He left out of the front door of his secluded house and morphed into a wolf almost immediately. He glanced back at Amara who waved 'good-bye' to him then set off in the direction he needed to.

Amara closed the door and locked it, not really confident the lock would keep anything supernatural out or not. She trudged up the stairs once more and headed to her temporary room. Opening her suitcase she took a dry baggy shirt and shorts from the pile of clothing within. Her body shivered once the damp clothing was peeled away from her skin and tossed them on the ground.

With clean clothes on she cleaned her dirty glasses with her shirt and sighed to herself, “This is just great. No matter what I do, I seem to fuck everything up.”

'Yep, you sure do,' the abrasive side of her brain let on, 'its almost like you're fated for disasters.'

She gripped her head, “Ugh, I don't have time for this right now.”

'Of course you do. We're alone and are able to overthink everything. Where do we start?'

Ignoring the voice she went to the bag Luke packed and took her black book out. Sitting on the bed she ground a bud and rolled a thick baseball bat joint. She grabbed her lighter and cigarettes before heading down the stairs and toward the backdoor. 'You sure you want to go outside? The boogeyman is probably waiting for ya,' her brain trying to sike her out.

Amara flung the door open and had the joint lit before even stepping out completely. 'Listen to the voice inside your head damn it,' the voice now agitated. The first hit silenced her mind, the second calmed her anxiety and the third had her almost forgetting why she was even worried. By the end of the roach she was on a cloud. Lighting a cigarette, she slumped in one of the chairs Luke had on his porch just staring at the edge of his property, the sun barely out now.

Her eyes kept scanning the area cautious for any movement within the tree line. Though she was high, Amara was still aware of the dangers that now lurked in the shadows. The green trees swayed in her vision as she contemplated why she hadn't had a meltdown from learning that there were actual supernatural beings on Earth. Was it because of her own odd experiences or because she'd always been interested with the morbid and macabre? She couldn't decide, but what she did know was that any chance of having a “normal” life was thrown out the window this afternoon.

Blinking a few times, she wasn't aware of the tears that had swelled in her eyes until they were trailing down her oval face. Would she always have to live in fear of the unknown? Stubbing out the cancerous stick, Amara got off the wicker chair she sat in and headed inside. She was about to head back up the stairs when her stomach suggested it was time for food with a loud grumble.

Entering the country kitchen she opened Luke's fridge up. She meandered through it looking for any ingredients that were still in date. She found some chicken that needed to be cooked, some bell pepper and half an onion. Amara, after closing the fridge, went to his pantry and hoped to find some tortillas because tacos sounded good. With her luck Luke didn't have any, but she did find the ingredients to make some.

She flipped the small radio he had in the corner of his back counter filling the room with whatever was on the rock station before setting to work she sliced her vegetables. Once done she cleaned and cut her chicken up and had set it set aside to marinate while she prepared her dough for the flour tortillas. When she started to cook the seasoned chicken, Amara cleaned up any mess she had made beforehand. Half-way through the cooking process she got out a griddle pan and began to measure out street taco sized discs and cook them alongside the filling.

The aroma of the spices had her mouth watering and mind distracted to the point that she didn't hear the front door open. She didn't feel any presence around her until two strong arms hugged her from behind. Screaming, Amara grabbed the handle of the griddle and swung behind her, not thinking of the hot food that was browning on top of it.

“Hey! Hey, it's just me, Ami. Ah,” Luke quickly let go and dodged the searing hot pan in the nick of time.

A hot tortilla landed on her arm which she quickly shook off, letting it fall to the ground with the other few. “Why the fuck would you sneak up on me like that,” Amara clutched her free hand over her heart, “Especially today?”

“Honestly, I thought you would have heard me and I wasn't thinking,” he peered in over to the stove, “Oh yummy, we get tacos tonight.”

“Yeah and your tortillas are on the floor,” she bitterly mumbled as she turned and replaced the pan on the burner.

Luke paying no attention to her picked up the mess on the ground and tossed it in the trash. “Is it almost ready,” his tone was almost too innocent.

“Yeah. Just these last few to go,” she stirred the chicken, “This is ready. You can grab what you want now and I'll get mine after.”

Luke opened up a cabinet that contained his dishes and pulled out a plate for each of them. He made his food and she followed soon after. He waited for Amara to sit before starting to scarf down his food. While she ate with gusto, Amara didn't inhale the food like him. She heard his content with her cooking which made her look at him. “So what happened,” her curiosity won which generally led to complications.

He was chewing on his last bite of food when she asked which had him slow his jaw. He didn't want to tell her what all he had found out while there. Swallowing his food he stood up and cleaned up his dish, not ready yet to acknowledge the question. Amara not understanding why he was silent, the stress of not knowing in her voice as she spoke his name, “Luke.”

She watched her friend scratch the back of his head and heard his sorrow filled sigh. When he faced her sitting form he was tense. Luke's lips were pressed into a thin line and his brows furrowed telling her that what he was going to say wasn't pleasant. Amara sat her half eaten taco on the plate no longer having an appetite. “You need to eat, Ami. I won't tell you anything till after.”

She disagreed with him with a silent shake of her head and crossed her arms over her chest in a hug like manner. 'What can be so bad that has him even more solemn than before? How bad did they hurt him,' she bite her inner cheek to keep the plague of overthinking from starting especially since she could just ask him about it. “Luke just tell me. Are you okay? How bad is it,” her face mirrored his.

“I'm fine, Ami,” her head turned and eyes narrowed. Luke held his hands up and turned around in a circle, “Don't give me that look. You see, I'm physically fine, okay?”

“But mentally?”

He didn't meet her stare with his eyes instead he looked at his feet, “I don't know where to start. Amarantha we're in some deep shit if I'm to be honest.”

“What did they say,” she asked, referring to the elders of his tribe. When he didn't make a move to speak, Amara impatiently demanded, “Just say it.”

Luke's heated brown eyes bet her cool blue ones with animosity, “We might have saved you from one leech today, but now we have to hand you over a clan of those disgusting blood suckers.”

“Wha- Why,” she gripped the table out of fear, but had enough courage to stomp her foot, “I'm stayin' right here.”

“I told them what you told me, which I admit might have contributed to their decision to hand you over,” Luke approached her at the table, “Before I got there they had been contacted by the vegetarian vampires.”

“Who all did you tell, Luke,” she asked him, attempting to not get worked up, “And really? Vegetarian vampires are a thing?”

“Yeah they're a thing, we have a group of them that have territory here,” Luke's words caused Amara's eyes to widen. 'For how long,' she wondered. “They had left, but now they're back, bringing trouble with them.”

Her brows cinched, “What do you mean trouble?”

“I mean they apparently broke a law and the ones that govern over them are here,” he said so quickly Amara had a hard time keeping up.

“But Luke,” she motioned between them, “what does that have to do with us?”

Luke threw his arms up in an exaggerated fashion, “I don't know and that's what is so frustrating.”

**March 6th, 2006 4:25 pm PST**

As they prowled through the damp, lush, vibrant forest, Marcus felt very much unlike himself. The closer he approached the Olympic covens home the closer he was to his soul and the more he became untamed. He sniffed the air every so often in hopes of catching the ambrosial scent of their mate, but was always met with the earthy smell of their surroundings. He released a growl in annoyance as the ache for his beloved grew stronger.

Aro being in the center of their triangle formation was eager to see what awaited them. Though in his apprehension for seeing his old friend and maybe finding a few hidden talents to join the coven, Aro felt his inner carnal desire heighten. He didn't need blood for the coven dined before leaving and the thirst for it wasn't there. What the predator needed was his prey. Was this from being so close to his mate that he could practically feel her? He wondered if his brothers were experiencing the same challenge to contain the demon within.

To Aro's left, Caius zoomed through the trees with eyes dark as coal. The several millennium old vampire felt this heart clutching pull in the direction, he was certain, of his mate. The brutal man couldn't care less about this coven and had preferred that they had just come here to take what was theirs by right instead of going through this ridiculous route. Caius just knew that once they were finished with the Olympic coven that he would let nothing, including his brothers, stop him from going to her.

The trio followed closely by their personal guard arrived at a modern glass house enclosed with tall fir and cedar trees. They stopped directly in front of the transparent door the vampire leaders where the milk skinned coven leader and his mate waited patiently. Opening the door, Carlisle gave a bow of his head, greeted them with an obligatory smile and gestured for them to enter, “Welcome to our home.”

In the entryway, Aro stepped to his old friend and offered his hand, “Oh Carlisle it has been such a long time. You and your wife look simply wonderful, and your home looks absolutely lovely,” he cheerfully said to both the patriarch and matriarch of the Cullen clan as his eyes took in the minimalist style of the inside. The woman standing next to Carlisle thanked him, her nerves not once peeking through her warm exterior. Carlisle reluctantly placed his hand into the awaiting hand of Aro's, giving the man, not only a friendly hand shake, but information he sought.

As Caius and Marcus watched the spectacle before them, their vampyric ears heard something they hadn't thought would be inside a house full of vampires. A human heartbeat nervously thumped in a room next them. Caius' black eyes turned from the direction of the noise to the two honey eyed vampires, “Is that a heartbeat I hear?”

Before the two could answer Aro let out a maniacal laugh, releasing Carlisle's hand. To his utter delight they had exposed themselves to a human and the best part was that they weren't there because of that. The poor mortal woman was in the other room panicking over them being there was utterly priceless. “Well Carlisle in all my years I've never had someone so up front as you are for breaking the law. I must meet this creature that confounds your 'son' so much,” Aro spoke after calming down from his hysterics.

That had Caius' attention in an instant and deducing from the currently rapid heartbeat he understood in which way they broke the law. Him being an authoritarian couldn't let these lawbreakers go unpunished. Already thinking of how to quickly get this impromptu trial over with. Maybe as punishment to them he'd have a snack before going after the curvy temptress that his body craved.

Marcus was not amused by the situation one bit. It felt as if fate kept putting obstacles in the way of him getting to his final destination. He silently followed his brothers further into the bright abode, stepping down to what he would call a lounge area. He glanced across the room at the rest of the coven standing across the room with their human in the middle of them. He couldn't help but glance into the bonds of the surrounding vampires to see what the doe eyed female was to them.

He saw that the majority had accepted her as a part of their family, one being mated to her. Though their bonds to the female human seemed to be bright there had been obvious cracks. Whatever they did to wound her, she apparently still cared deeply for each one of them. Marcus came out of his sight and made eye contact with the female's mate. He just stared in his honey eyes emotionless knowing he must be the mind reader and saw the human's bonds just as he had. There must be a reason why the young vampire hasn't changed his mate yet. He would hear his case with an open mind unlike Caius.

Aro smiled at the two treasured vampires before turning his eyes to the female behind them. “Its so nice to finally meet all of you. Of course Carlisle has mention you all in his letters, but to be able to put the names to faces is a pleasure,” his wide eyes committing each Cullen to memory. “Young Edward, if you'd be so kind,” Aro asked the tall, bronze haired vampire, even though it came off more as a command.

Edward let go of Bella giving her a reassured look before going to stand in front of Aro. The elder of the two gripped the younger man's hand and took a look into his thoughts. Images flitted past Aro's mind, Edward before his turning and his battle to cling to his humanity afterwards. Aro saw the moment Edward first encountered his mate and his need to drain and turn her right then. Aro felt how her very existence sung to the young man's cold heart and how hard he fought, and still does, to not give into his natural instincts.

As he sifted through Edward's mind he came across someone he didn't not expect, but was all too happy to see her, even if the moment was brief. That just meant the Cullen's will serve their purpose perfectly. Not wanting to linger too long on the image of his mate he continued his journey through the man's mind. Watching the events of Bella becoming endangered by nomad vampires, the sucking of venom from her freshly bitten arm, the mortals birthday party disaster and then his decision to leave her in the middle of the woods planning on never returning.

Aro's mouth was filled with venom from having the experience of how Bella's scent alone affected Edward. “La tua cantante,” he sounded almost dreamy as he stared at the human now standing behind the seer, “you have a strength, I'm afraid, I do not possess. To leave one's mate who is also your singer untouched and completely alone,” Aro cocked his head, “is a very.. interesting choice.”

Edward just stayed silent as Aro already knew how the young vampire felt since his hand was still clasped tightly. Aro let go of Edward's hand satisfied with the knowledge he gained from him. He kept his eyes on the human intrigued that young Edward's powers didn't work on her. Aro glided halfway across the room. “Dear Isabella, “ Aro raised his hand beckoning the mousy woman forward, “would you do me the honor.”

Aro watched as she gingerly walked the rest of the way to him, stumbling over air as she neared. Bella righted herself before coming to stand an arm's length away. Aro gave a nod of his hand, silently telling her to give him hers. Once her small hand was in his chilled clasp her closed his eyes to concentrate on reading her. Instead of the immediate flood of information he was familiar with, Aro was met with silence. He understood why young Edward was drawn completely enamored with his mate, that he abandoned in some twisted way of protecting her.

No one in the room had to be a mind reader to know what Aro's cat that caught the canary grin meant. “How fascinating,” he began as he released her hand, “I wonder if you're immune to all our pow-”

The disgruntled grown from behind him stopped Aro from voicing his curiosity, but the growl in front of his told him the thought was heard. Ignoring Edward, he turned to see Caius struggling to control himself, and Marcus right next to him trying to keep him calm, speaking to him in Latin, _“We will have her soon my brother, but you need to regain control over yourself because you will not hurt her in my presence.”_

No emotion crossed his face, but he felt an abnormal sense of concern for his brother. Sighing he faced the teen, “Another time then.”

A smile slipped back on his face looking toward the Olympic coven, Aro directed Bella back to her mate. “We appreciate you coming forth with your crime, and will take that into consideration when sentencing. I'm afraid there was a.. miscommunication. Though Isabella is a lovely woman, she is not the one we are seeking. I believe,” Aro pointed toward the scowling Edward, “you know her as, what was it? Amarantha Davis?”

Aro's eyes absorbed the Cullen's reactions and was happy to see the human turn toward Edward. “Amara, what does she have to do with this,” her question aimed at her mate.

“You know her, my dear,” Marcus said for the first time since arriving. He seemed to glide over the wood surface to be in the center of the room with Aro, leaving Caius briefly.

Bella was hesitant to answer until Edward wrapped an arm around her. She nodded, “Yes, she's a tattoo artist here.”

“And their mate,” Edward added letting the rest of the family know what was going through the minds of the leaders. As the Cullen's shared a look between themselves the agile form of Demetri walked into the room and went to his masters. He placed his hand in Aro's for a second and was quickly dismissed once information was passed.

Before he could leave, Caius smelt her scent off of Demetri and roared out, “Where is she?”

Aro cast a glance at Marcus, asking him to keep Caius at bay, to which the taller man understood and went to Caius' side. “These wolves that you have, Carlisle, have become a problem,” Aro's tone no longer a joyful one, “They've seemed to have taken Ms. Davis and we'll need you to help us get her back.”


	7. Punching Walls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to post once a month. I hope this doesn't bother anyone, but I'd rather take my time and not get burnt out. Hope you enjoy.
> 
> Songs: Gone with the Sin by HIM and Everybody's Changing by Keane

Leaning against the counters of a freshly cleaned kitchen, Amara slowly processed everything Luke was telling her about the supernatural world he was a part of. Most of everything flew over her head except the one thing that stuck out as wrong to her. “Hold up,” her hand came up to the height of her waist, palms faced forward giving a halting motion, “Help me git this straight. I still ain't git'en why a pack of Dire wolves, who swore to protect its people, ain't gonna protect me? Is it cause I ain't from 'round here?”

Luke's face contorted giving her the impression that she wasn't going to like what he had to say. “Well do you want the truth or would you like me to let you down nicely?” Amara just gave him the, 'Just tell me already,' kind of look which had him shrug his already defeated shoulders. “Look I want to start off by saying I tried real hard to get them to change their minds, but it was like someone had already convinced them against protecting you. Plus what I told them just added fuel to their 'No' fire,” he stared at the floor before looking to his side at Amara who had been staring at him, “They said and I quote, 'We don't want the trouble she brings.' Ami, I don't know what that means, but you can bet I'm not leaving your side. Fuck the pack, fuck my grandfather and fuck my dad! I don't care if I'll be shunned for it.”

Amara shook her head softly and reached her hand out to touch his arm, “Luke yer just sayin' that 'cause yer upset. I guess they're sorta right to want to protect the needs of the many and not the needs of one person. I git it, just don't turn yer back on yer family because of me. Ya think now that it'll be easy, but when ya cain't think of them without dying a little from being unable to talk to them you'll regret it,” she paused a moment and quirked her head to the side, “Would they really exile you?”

He nodded his head, “It was threatened when I wouldn't drop the fact that they were essentially going against everything I thought we stood for.”

She took a shaky deep breath, 'It's going to be okay,' echoed through her brain trying to quiet down the negative thoughts of impending doom. Of course she would find herself in this position, surrounded by supernatural beings and sought out for whoever knows why. Life would never be an easy breeze, white picket fence, normal for Amara and she doesn't know if she'll ever not be bitter about that. Tears lined her light eyes as she looked friend, her voice quivered, “A-Are you going to hand me over t-to them?”

He shook his head, but didn't look her in the eyes, “I'm not, but-”

“But?” Her knuckles became white from gripping onto the counter that she had been leaning on. She clenched her jaw tight in order to keep it from trembling. 'I will not break down,' she said waiting for Luke to at least look at her when he tells her her fate.

“The pack will be here to escort you to the leeches,” his earthy eyes met hers, his own beginning to leak, “I was ordered to stay away and I can't obey that order.” He turned to Amara, bringing his hands up to cup her face and wipe away the stray tears that were making their way down it with his thumbs. “I won't leave your side through this, Ami. I'll die before letting them touch you again.”

She doesn't know if it was his words or his actions that made her heart break, “I cain't have ya dyin' for me Luke. A world without you in it isn't a world worth living in.” Her arms circled around his torso while he wrapped around her in a comforting hug. 'If these creatures are as bad as he says they are I can't let him be there. If I'm to die it won't matter, it's not like I have anyone besides him. Luke has his whole family that still need him,' the thought almost made her sob. Her face buried in his chest caused her already weak voice to be muffled, but determined, “You will let them take me and you will stay here, Luke.”

His gripped on her tightened briefly before he pulled away just enough to see her tear stained face, “That has got to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard you say.”

She could only meet his critical gaze for a mere second already feeling his disappointment. Amara removed herself from his warm body, the cool air of the kitchen caused a shiver to spread across her, “Luke it might be stupid, and I know I ain't thinking clearly. Hell, I cain't remember the last time I did, but you have to stay away. The thought of you git'en hurt or worse... I won't be able to..,” she took another deep breath to calm her overflowing emotions, “We don't even know why they want me yet. I'll go find out and be back before you can spell supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”

“Vampires are only interested in one thing and that's your blood, Amarantha. That's it, nothing else. You can't seriously think they want anything else, but to kill you,” Luke's voice grew in volume the longer he talked, angry that Amara would so easily throw herself into danger and scared for what might happen to her.

She muttered under her breath, “Would that be so bad?” Death had always appealed to her, especially if her dreams weren't really dreams. The things that happened to her while she slept could possibly have happened and made her feel sick. 'What did I do to deserve this,' a lone tear escaped her eye at the memories and the heart clenching melancholy. “Maybe it would be for the best,” her voice was small.

“Don't start that kind of thinking now, Ami. You know that's just the sickness talking,” if he could slap her to snap her out of it Luke would. Instead he did something he's been wanting to do for months. Grabbing her by her waist, Amara was pulled to stand in between Luke's muscular legs. His left hand slid from her waist to her face to wipe away the tear that was there before cupping the back of her head to tilt it back for easier access to her lips.

Luke lowered his head and captured his best friend's soft lips with his. The whimper that escaped her was answered with a growl of his own. His lips moved against hers for a heartbeat or two before she reciprocated the kiss with running her tongue across his lower lip begging for entrance. Luke couldn't help the smirk that he felt on his face when Amara became demanding and nipped at his lip when he didn't give her what she wanted as fast as she wanted.

Amara's depressing disposition melted away from the searing kiss she was sharing with the last person she really had in her life. She moaned into his mouth when his strong arms picked her up, turned and placed her on his kitchen counter. Her hands were roaming over the plains of his upper torso before making their way into his dark, thick hair. She was loving the feeling of his body now between her legs, pressed against her in all the right places. His arousal evident in his jean shorts ground at her clothed center causing a wave of pleasure and the uneasy, bitter burn like before.

'Oh no, please not this,' Amara begged inside her mind when she began to feel that uncomfortable fire boiling her blood in her veins. Luke, unaware of the building pain, brushed his hand underneath her heavy breast causing her to shudder and shake from what should have been pleasure. Amara jerked away from Luke crying out as if he burned her.

Luke took his hand off of her immediately when he heard her pain. “Ami what's happening,” he asked alarmed as he watched her begin to turn red and struggle to inhale.

“Need.. shower.. can't.. breathe,” she managed between pants, her right hand came to press against her chest in an attempt to stop the sharp ache. Without a second thought Luke picked her up and rushed to the downstairs bathroom. Flipping the lights on after setting Amara down he quickly turned the taps on and set it up for her to shower while she undressed behind him. Having a hard time standing up straight she braced herself against the sink as Luke adjusted the temperatures of the water.

She was grateful for his assistance in getting into the shower when he finally turned back toward her. The spray of the warm water didn't help the burning she felt crawling throw her skin so with trembling hands she quickly cut the hot water off. Amara inhaled sharply from the icy cold water that now engulfed her form, but welcomed the relieving effect. She hadn't noticed that Luke had left the room, but did notice when he returned with her toiletry bag.

As she leaned against the wall she watched the man she would always lie about loving more than platonically, take out her hair and body care products and set them on the edge of the tub for her to wash herself. Her not once stopped to question why she reacted to his ministration instead he seemed to only focus on taking care of her. That caused her heart to ache once more from guilt. 'I'll never deserve a man like him,' she could help think, not expecting the other side of her to answer with, 'You deserve something else entirely.'

Amara, once she was able to catch her breath went through the motions of washing her hair and body for the second time in less than twenty-four hours. Luke stood outside the shower with two towels awaiting her when she cut off the water. On shaking legs, Amara stepped into the towel he held up for her and wrapped it around her full body. With another towel around her head she finally looked up to read Luke's face. Without any words passing from either of their lips the other could tell they were afraid.

He was the one to break the silence by mentioning that she should get dressed before she froze to death. That caused a corner of her mouth to twitch at the hint of a smile. With his help, Amara managed to make her way up the stairs and back into the room that she would be sleeping in. “When do you think they will come to get me,” her voice sounded strange after what just happened.

“I don't know, soon,” he said, more like a question than a statement with a shrug of his shoulders. She nodded her head and decided to dress for going out instead of bed. If this was to happen tonight and if it were to be her last night alive then she'd at least be dressed well for her funeral.

Digging through her chaotic suitcase she pulled out a black dress with sheer puffy sleeves with black velvet cuffs connected to thick black straps, the collar was made of the same velvet material, the chest was a sweetheart cut had sheer fabric connecting it to the collar and buttons in the middle to open it if needed, the bodice was cinched at the waist, and its skirt flowed out and generally stopped at her knees, unless she wore a petticoat underneath for extra volume. Seeing as she didn't pack one she'd settle for only her fishnets that see managed to grab. She slipped on a matching black underwear set before gliding the hosiery up her strong legs and over her backside stopping at her midsection, smoothing out her stomach. She ignored the look Luke was giving as she applied deodorant before placing the dress over her head. Forgetting the dress had a zipper she turned to her companion and asked for his help.

The feeling of his warm hands on her back stirred the burning within her. Taking a deep breath she ignored that now touching her friend caused her the same pain as when Aaron touched her. 'Where did this correlate,' she wondered before stepping away from Luke, thanking him in the process.

“Are you seriously dressing up for the blood suckers,” Luke stood there flabbergasted.

“No, I'm dressing up for myself,” she answered honestly. She took out a pair of socks and her black velvet ankle boots. She sat on the side of the bed as she put them on before breaking the silence between them. “I felt the pain again when we.. when we were kissing,” she admitted aloud.

“What did they do to you,” he asked no one in particular. Before she could begin to answer the doorbell rang through the house, cutting off any sort of conversation that would have been had. Amara's heart speed up as she followed behind Luke, removing the towel from around her hair as she did so. She was still on the stairs when he opened the door to reveal Jacob Black and the pixie-like Cullen. 'Wait why was Alice here,' Amara faltered in taking another step forward, 'This doesn't make sen-.'

'Because, you idiot, she's a vampire,' came the bitter inner monologue. Amara's eyebrows raised in realization she felt her heart skip a beat from the shock.

“What are you doing here,” Luke questioned more directed at the small female instead of Jacob.

“I'm here to help. Everyone thought a familiar face might make this easier,” the chime like voice did little to comfort Amara as Alice glanced at her on the steps behind Luke, “Love the dress, by the way.”

“I'm to make sure you stay here while this is all going down,” Jacob stated with a hurt look on his face as if he didn't want to be doing this.

Luke's grip tightened on the door handle, debating whether he should slam the door in their faces and take Amarantha and run. Bowing his head when the rational side of him won he opened the door further to allow the two access inside his home. Amara's voice seemed to be stuck in her throat because all she did was nod to Alice in thanks and turned to go finish getting ready.

As soon as she had disappeared around the corner she pressed her back against the wall and inhaled as slowly as she could. 'I can do this,' she lied to herself trying to give herself false bravado. She grabbed her backpack taking out her makeup bag within and applied a small cat eye to her lids, lined the bottom with a smokey coal color and added a couple coats of mascara. The only color in her whole outfit would be the wine colored stain on her lips. Her semi wet hair was just pinned in the back showing off her tattoos on each side of her head. With her glasses freshly clean and placed on her face did she feel ready to go to what might be the end. Sure she was being over dramatic in her assessment in dying but she couldn't help it. It was in her nature to be pessimistic.

She placed the pack across her back and left the room hoping to return later on. As she walked down the stairs all conversation came to a stop. Looking at Luke she saw that he was even more stressed out than before. She wanted to ask what's wrong, but wimped out last second. The only sound came from her shoes on the hard floor as she walked around the three unmoving figures in the living room. She went to the table where her cigarettes were and placed them in the side pocket of her bag.

'You can do this,' she reassured herself. “I guess I'm ready,” the tremor in her voice did nothing to hide how she was feeling nor did the tremble in her hands. She at least could bite her lower lip to stop it from quaking.

Alice gave her a cheerful smile, “We can take your car. I'll drive if that's okay with you?”

Amara nodded mutely and grabbed her keys from the table as well to hand to Alice. She began to follow the short girl when Luke stopped her and gave her a quick hug while whispering a plea for her to come back. “I promise to try,” she said with discomfort from the contact of his skin on hers before turning from him and leaving his house.

When she was in the vehicle with the vampire behind the wheel she shook like a leaf. “I'm not going to hurt you, Ami and I promise it isn't as bad as you're thinking,” Alice consoled while pulling away from the last safe place for Amara.

“Please don't call me that,” Amara said, only liking when people she was close with call her Ami.

“Sorry, Amara it is. I just know that we'll become friends eventually so I just assumed it would be okay.”

Not wanting to question how Alice knew that, Amara decided to try asking about her situation, “What is going to happen to me?”

Alice opened her mouth only to close it with a sigh. “I can't tell you unfortunately. I was told not to, but I can say it will be eye opening at the very least.”

“Well that's not much help,” she murmured. The cab of the car fell silent and Amara couldn't stand it right now. She ejected the CD that was in her stereo and replaced it with a burned one from her disc collection on her passenger sun visor. The vocals of Ville Valo broke the silence and made the drive bearable.

_'I love your skin oh so white,  
I love your touch cold as ice,  
And I love every single tear you cry,  
I just love the way you´re losing your life' _

Amara watched the lush scenery of the forest around them pass by as they listened to, Gone with the Sin by HIM in the back ground. Her mind not finding the irony in the lyrics as they continue playing through the speakers. She was just enjoying the familiar tune that was calming her down little by little. Soon the song faded into another and then another till one of her favorites started to play.

_'You're aching, you're breaking  
And I can see the pain in your eyes  
Says everybody's changing  
And I don't know why_

  
  


_So little time  
Try to understand that I'm  
Trying to make a move just to stay in the game  
I try to stay awake and remember my name  
But everybody's changing and I don't feel the same'_

This time the lyrics from the Keane song struck her hard. She did feel alone right now and that everything was just worsening. She quickly turned the volume all the way down not wanting to hear anything anymore. She needed to believe her lie that everything was going to be okay. It wasn't much longer till they turned down a twisting gravel road. Amara practically counted the seconds, that turned to minutes till they pulled up to an impressive, modern home in the middle of the forest.

  
  


“We're here,” Alice's optimistic voice did nothing to deter the dread creeping through Amara.

  
  


It just felt wrong to be walking into a home this nice. Sure the ranch style home she grew up in wasn't meager by any means, but it was country. This place practically screamed upper class and she was nowhere near this. 'Oh I don't like this. Nope, not one bit,' she definitely didn't fit in with this environment though she could appreciate the taste in whoever did the interior decoration. Simplistic yet just enough,' she commented to no one.

  
  


The sound of her footsteps and heartbeat were the only things she could her in the whole house. Straining her ears, she couldn't even hear anything inside to give away if anyone else was in there. Walking into what she would call the living room she was surprised to see a gathering of people. Of course she could pick out the Cullen family, she might not know all of their names, but she has at least seen their faces around town.

  
  


It was the other people, the ones with startlingly beautiful ruby eyes that had her stand frozen in place. Three of the six faces were familiar, two being from her dreams and one from the forest. The other three she had never met and didn't really want to meet. Two looked to be twins, 'Both boys,' she questioned herself before noticing one in a dress, 'Oops.' They looked rather young to have such malice behind their eyes. The other man she didn't know, but her breath caught when she looked him over. 'Why does everyone look like Greek gods,' her mind cried, taking in the long black hair and less angular features of the man near her age.

All of them dressed rather formally, but she just chalked it up to them being vampires. When her eyes met the eyes of the white haired male that currently wore a look of possession causing her heart sped up. Unaware that he heard it and a smirk crossed his gaunt features. Oh how she wanted to wipe that smirk of his face. He seemed way too arrogant for her to ever be interested in him. She just wasn't attracted to assholes. At least that is what she kept telling herself while her body almost instantly remembered how he had made her feel. Betraying her by turning the uneasy burn of pain she had been feeling to a pleasant almost welcoming warmth.

  
  


Not wanting to stare at him a moment longer her eyes fell on the youngest looking man remembering how broken he had looked the last she had seen him. Now he looked like his empty like had meaning once again and that made her mood lighten slightly. She didn't like seeing him that way and this concerned her. 'Why am I feeling this way for strangers?'

  
  


“Amarantha Davis, it's lovely to finally meet you,” his milky red eyes drank in her appearance smiling at her in a hungry way. He slowly walked toward her, “My brothers' memories do you no justice. You're far more exquisite in person.”

  
  


Amara could feel heat rise to her cheeks and tried to not shudder from how he spoke her name like that of a long lost lover. He stopped to stand a little too close for comfort, “I am Aro Volturi,” reaching his gloved hand out for her to place her hand in, bowing slightly to her eye level.

  
  


'You can do this,' becoming her own cheer leader and finding her back bone she has always had. “Hi, uh yeah,” she couldn't help taking a step back or her nerves causing her voice to waiver, “I don't mean to be rude, or nothin', but cain't we skip any formalities and just get to the point as to why I'm here.”

  
  


He looked astonished at her bluntness. Clasping his open hand shut Aro straightened himself and just gave her a closed lipped smile before cocking his head to the side as he stared at her neck. He turned to look at the arrogant one saying something aggressively in a language, she couldn't for the life of her, recall. Aro looked back to her and gestured to the bruise that was from the older gentleman's treatment of her in her dream.

  
  


'Not a dream,' echoed her mind.

  
  


'Shut up, I don't need you right now. I need to focus,' Amara almost pleaded with her head. She didn't notice the attention of the bronze haired Cullen boy or how he looked confused as he continued to stare.

  
  


The male that wasn't currently in a dispute with his brothers slowly glided to where she stood at a comfortable distance compared to Aro. He extended his hand similarly like Aro, but this time instead of ignoring it she lifted her hand to his. He placed the briefest of kisses above her knuckles and smiled at her when saying, “I believe we've met my dear, but I'm afraid we never got to introduce myself. I am Marcus. He is obviously Aro and that man, who I believe you've met as well, is Caius.”

  
  


After pointing at the two men who have now stopped arguing he began speaking once more, “We came here for you.” She was going to have a heart attack before they would even kill her. “Now calm down my dear. I expect you know what we are considering your reaction and am curious as to how, but won't press for now. If you think we are here to kill you then I'm happy to inform you that it is the exact opposite.”

  
  


Her hand still rested in his and when she made a half assed attempt to remove her hand he held on a little tighter not to let go. If he could read her mind right now Marcus would be able to see how much she wanted him to wrap his arms around her like he did the first night they met. 'Why am I feeling this way? This isn't natural,' her breathing had picked up as he began to pull her closer to him and further into the room.

  
  


As they drew closer to the smug older man the needy fire within began to roar with flames. 'Why are you betraying me,' Amara's mind screamed at her body as her legs began feeling weak as he stalked toward her, 'It was just sex, stop acting like you want more.' As her heart pounded, Marcus squeezed her still captured lightly, rubbing his thumb over the top of her hand in a soothing manner.

  
  


Instead of Marcus continuing to speak it was Aro that began speaking, “You see _cara mia_ ever since you visited we've been looking for you. We're very lucky to have caught your scent.”

  
  


Amara shook her head not understanding, “Wha- Why?”

  
  


“Because you belong to us,” Caius spoke taking the liberty to quickly unbutton her collar and kissed her neck where he marked it so fast she didn't have time to stop him, “Don't hide what I gave you.”

  
  


Electricity shot through her body when icy lips touched her heated skin. 'How dare he,' Amara thought though it felt good and for some reason her heart wanted it, but her mind didn't. As a reflex she brought her left hand back clenched in a tight fist and punched him. Instant regret shot through her mind when she heard the pop sound that came from impact.

  
  


“Ooh shit, fuck, goddamn,” Words she didn't realize spilled from her lips as she brought in her injured limb, “Ooh that hurt, that really hurt.”

  
  


The whole room stood in disbelief that she really had just punched a vampire, not just any vampire, but Caius of all people. His own eyes were wide and so was the predatory grin plastered on his face. The inferno that was burning deep within her eyes had entrapped his being. The beast inside him needed to claim her again, make her scream his name in any way possible, to sink his teeth into one of her hefty breasts and feel her blood coating the inside of his throat as he'd begin her change. Even while in pain she was stunning to look at he decided.

  
  


“Oh dear,” Aro said, appearing quickly next to Amara. He reached out to her as did Marcus causing her to flinch, “We don't mean you any harm.”

  
  


“Says the people who are claiming ownership of me,” she grunted out.

  
  


Carlisle stepped forward at a human pace to the center of the catastrophe. “May I take a look at your hand, Ms. Davis,” the doctor asked. She gave a curt nod and stepped away from the three domineering men, thankful to follow Dr. Cullen out of the room and into the kitchen area. He motioned for me to sit on a stool at the counter. He left the room in a flash and was back with an ace bandage. Setting it on the granite surface next to her he extended his hands, “May I?”

  
  


Having been keeping her arm clenched tightly across her chest, she slowly moved the throbbing limb. She gasped at his icy touch which had him apologize for the cold hands. Amara just gave a small quirk of her lips not feeling like talking with how much she was hurting. If she had been feeling better she would have said, 'Cold hands, but a warm heart,' but that only was muttered in her head.

  
  


“Think it's broken,” she finally croaked out after he kept feeling on it, pressing on to a certain place causing her to wince and lightly tug on her hand.

  
  


“Well x rays would definitely help, but with how it looks and feels I would guess that it is,” he let go of her hand to begin to wrap the bandage around her wrist, “I suggest going to get those for confirmation and maybe a cast. Until then I recommend ice for the swelling and heat for the pain.”

  
  


Pulling a small bottle from his pocket he handed it to her after he finished with her arm, “This is to help for the pain, take as recommended on the bottle with food. It can make your stomach queasy.”

  
  


“Thank you,” not bothering to wait she opened the bottle with one hand, lid landing on the counter. She placed the open bottle on the flat surface so she could take out a pill. Seeing what she was doing he easily went and got her a glass of water before she accomplished her task. Did her eyes keep deceiving her or did the vampires just teleport everywhere? Did they just move too fast for her eyes to register? Did she really want to know?

  
  


Amara took the glass that was offered to her and swallowed down the pill without a second thought. She thanked him again as she handed him back the glass. “No thanks needed. It is what I do,” he replied with a smile. He closed the pill bottle for her and handed it to her once more. She stood up and was led back into the room that seemed to still be over crowded with things that hunger for what pumped through her veins.

  
  


Upon entering the three men that had been doing most of the talking cut off their conversation in that foreign language they seemed confident that no one knew what they were saying. “Amarantha,” Aro tested his eyes roaming her body once more lingering on her bandaged limb, “I must apologize for Caius' behavior and for what he said.”

  
  


“And why cain't he say this himself,” her anger flaring.

  
  


“Because I do not feel sorry for any of it,” Caius stated before Aro could continue trying to sooth things out.

  
  


'The gall of this man,' she sputtered. “He didn't mean that either,” Aro said with a glare sent the man's way.

  
  


“Nope, he meant what he said,” her voice steady for once, “Look I ain't cattle granted I've been called a heifer once or twice because in my life cause, 'Ha Ha fat jokes,' but I ain't that and I don't belong to anyone. I suggest ya choose yer next words wisely before I walk out that door.”

  
  


Amara breathed a little heavily after her rage, and quickly tunneled her vision on just Caius. Knowing that punching him again would only cause her more pain so she fought against the urge. He looked at her like a master would a pet, ready to scold her for threatening him. Instead he decided to stoke the flames more, “You think you could just leave? You're a human in a room filled with beings far stronger than yourself.”

  
  


“Oh honey, I don't thank, I know,” the Texas drawl heavy present in her speech. She was standing her ground versus a killer beast and she'd rather die than give in.

  
  


“ _Cuore mia, per favore_ ,” Marcus' calm voice drew her attention from the irritating male next to him, “What he means is that you belong with us, not to us. The mating process has been started already which has made him, in a way, possessive.”

  
  


“The mating what,” her eyes widened and glanced back to Caius.

  
  


“That's why we're here, Amarantha,” Aro stepped toward her, “you are our mate.”

  
  


“No,” easily came from her mouth, “Nope, this is a mistake.”

  
  


Caius sneered, “Only mistake I see is that we're having this conversation with an audience.”

  
  


The other people in the room had just stayed as silent as they could the whole time taking in the whole scene. Things obviously were not going as planned. Amara just shook her head feeling numb to the information she had just learned. 'God I need a cigarette, or twenty,' she raised her right hand to pinch the bridge of her nose, going underneath her glasses to do so. She released a sigh and removed a strap around her left shoulder to get easy access to the side compartment her pack was stored. Taking one out and her lighter, she placed her bag carefully back on her left shoulder.

  
  


“I'm going outside and none of you are going to follow me,” she needed her space. She needed to think about what the hell was going on with her life. She wanted to run away like she always did. Anything other than being here was welcomed at this point. Amara made a b-line to the front door only to be stopped by Marcus.

  
  


“I can't let you go by yourself. Please allow me to accompany you. I shall not speak unless you want to,” his request sounded almost like pleading. She gave him a breathy okay before they both headed out of the house. She lit the cigarette with no problem and took the biggest inhale she could. Amara felt stressed out with all of the warring emotions inside me. 'Sometimes I just wish for an ice-pick lobotomy,' the thought of feeling nothing was more appealing now than ever.

  
  


'What the fuck is a mate,' she dumbly ask herself. Of course she knew what it meant for a human, but to vampires she had no clue. Is that why she was feeling so strongly for the three men? She couldn't wrap her mind around why life would through vampires her way as she exhaled a thick cloud of smoke. Or why did it have to be three different people?

  
  


She took another drag while glancing at the vampire beside her. 'Marcus,' she tested in her mind, 'He is quite handsome.' Their eyes met and she felt lost in his. His gaze alone set her skin to tingle from the heat. Daring to ask, “What does this mean? Being mates?”

  
  


He studied her a moment before divulging anything, “Do you know of soulmates?”

  
  


“Yeah, I know of them. Doesn't mean I believe in them. There never is really away in telling if you've found the one.”

Marcus gave a nod, “True, but for us, we know almost instantly. If you knew who your missing part of your being was, would you let them go or hunt them down?”

  
  


She brought the cigarette back to her lips and gave it a quick thought before answering, “It would have to depend on the situation.”

  
  


“If the situation was, lets say, the other mate had been waiting for over three thousand years to feel complete and out of thin air one night the answer to your emptiness appeared in front of you,” he posed to her.

  
  


'Did he just say three thousand years,' she felt insane right now especially answering with, “I'd fight tooth and nail to be with them.”

  
  


“Then do you see why we are here? Caius has already started the claim for you which has made him impulsive. I won't lie and say he can't be pompous or irritating on his normal days, but it is generally not this bad,” Marcus paused as she continued to smoke and absorb this information.

  
  


“Do I have a choice in this at all?”

  
  


He stepped closer to her, tilting her head up with his right hand for her to look at him once again. “There is always a choice, _cara mia._ Just don't rule out every option till they've been presented to you.”

  
  


In that moment, all Amara could do was stare up into the eyes of this creature, heart fluttering while smoke wisped around them and silently pray that he would never let her go. Her mind having left the building a long time ago, she agreed to hear them out. Stubbing out the cherry, she placed the butt in her pack to throw away later. She looked back at the tall young looking man and proceed to follow him back into the abode for what she could only imagine to be a conversation that will keep them up the rest of the night.


	8. Stroll Down Memory Lane

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said once a month, but I couldn't help myself.

When entering the room they had left everyone, Amara was on edge to only see Aro and Caius now occupying the room. “We thought it best to continue this conversation with just us, mia tesoro,” Aro having sensed the question behind her eyes. He gestured for her to have a seat to which Marcus gently guided her to a beige couch. She sat down and was quickly offered a bag filled with ice and a towel by Aro, “Carlisle said you'd need this.”

She gave a shallow bow of her head saying thanks as she placed the pack on her arm. The silence was deafening and caused her to squirm a little, catching the blonde brutes eyes. Though he stood the furthest away from her Amara could feel his gaze upon her skin. She met his eyes and a shiver rolled down her spine from the unspoken promise they held.

'Snap out of it,' she scolded herself, 'He obviously only wants to have power over me.'

'You say that like its a bad thing.'

'I don't want to be owned!'

'Deep down you do or you wouldn't be clenching your thighs so tightly begging for sweet release,' cackled the voice.

'Oh shut up, would ya,' her face became stern from the internal argument. She quickly spread her legs a little to stop what she was doing unconsciously. She flicked her eyes away from the now smirking man, who seemed to know how he affected her, to the man she hadn't met whilst dreaming. She let herself appreciate his beauty. His more rounded features compared to Caius' angular structure made him more inviting. Though Aro's and Marcus' hair were both technically black, his seemed darker and more blue than the others more warmer black. The same red colored eyes bore into hers but instead of the sinful vows being thrown her way, they held a thirst for knowledge.

“Well my dear Amarantha, where shall we start,” his voice overly enthusiastic, “Ah I know, how did you appear before my two brothers?”

She bit her lower lip before releasing it to speak up, “I'm not sure how to explain this. I just thought I was dreaming.”

“Dreaming,” he repeated as he fixated on her mouth till his eyes reached her own.

“Yep just fell asleep and woke up wherever y'all were,” she paused, reluctant to admit she had only just pieced together all of this just hours ago. If her left hand wasn't hurt she'd be twiddling her thumbs right at this moment from the pressure she was feeling under each of their stares.

Aro almost laughed with glee from the thought of their mate being gifted. He must see what she saw, so stepping toward her sitting form and began to remove one of his black leather gloves. “Would you do me the honor of showing me,” Aro asked, feeling it was the right thing to do considering this wasn't just anyone.

Her brows furrowed at his request, “How would I show you?”

“Aro, I think we're getting a bit ahead of ourselves don't you think,” Marcus said, having yet to sit. He looked to Amara with a warm smile, “How much do you know about vampires?”

Her eyes lowered from the men, “Other than being near indestructible, blood thirsty predators? Not much.”

“Who precisely told you of us,” Caius all but demanded with his tone.

Her head shot up and eyes narrowed, “Why do you need to know?”

“Because we can't go around having humans know the existence of vampires,” she was unsure how a statement could sound so threatening, but then again it was coming from him. Caius was the exact opposite of a gentle breeze across one's skin in spring time. He was a roaring wave during a hurricane crashing upon a rock. With as little amount of time she has had to endure him Amara could tell that he was not the type to do anything in half measures.

“And what exactly happens to humans that find out about y'all,” she fired back.

“Death or change,” if glares could kill, Amara was certain she'd be maimed, crying out, 'That it be only a scratch.' Lucky for her that wasn't the case.

“Well thank whoever the fucks up there that he isn't human,” she spat out and within the confines of her mind, 'How does he know how to push my buttons in just the right way to piss me off?'

“Was it a vampire,” he ground out.

“No. I had never met a vampire till that one guy in the woods or at least I thought I hadn't,” Amara muttered the last part seeing how the Cullens are vampires.

“So a shifter told you,” Caius assumed, “Carlisle will want to know. Maybe have them inform their leader of the insubordination.”

“Oh, come off it. If your claim of me being y'alls is true, were you not going to reveal yourselves to me anyways? Leave him out of this.”

Within a blink of an eye he was there in front of her being held back by Marcus who stepped in between them. Amara felt so small sitting there as the two men towered over her. “Is it the same one that has been trying to claim? Is that why you protect him so? You're not his to have,” he roared in the end. The enraged vampire shoved passed the shield Marcus was providing with his body and proceeded to grab her in a bruising manner off the seat and dove for her neck.

'Surely I'm dead,' was all she managed to think as she cried out from being manhandled in such a way. Before he could bite the indistinct sound of marble cracking resonated throughout the room. Amara pried open her eyes she hadn't realized she had shut from the onslaught. She saw the decapitated head of the blond vampire in the hand of Marcus. She released a shriek when his body thudded on impact with the floor.

“Now I warned you, Caius, that if you weren't able to control yourself I'd have to for four your own sake,” the raven head male reprimanded the severed head.

“Don't worry, _cara mia_. We will reattach his head once he has calmed down,” Aro said to the mortified woman. Marcus placed the head in a chair opposite of where she had sat, Amara's eyes unable to remove themselves from the sight. “He's still alive,” she asked breathlessly.

“He's alive and in a lot of pain,” Marcus commented as he came back to her, “Nothing he doesn't deserve for almost hurting you.” He lifted a hand to the side of her neck Caius almost bit her at. She flinched but allowed him to caress the skin there with his chilled touch. His touch had her forgetting the head staring at them as she leaned into it. 'This feels right, he feels right,' her heart said while her mind was on red alert, flashing the word danger throughout it.

As they kept looking at each other, Amara could help, but notice how Marcus looked at her as if she were the only woman alive. It made her heart skip a few beats when he offered her another smile. “Would you like to sit and continue our conversation once more, cuore mia?”

She mutely nodded. Amara sat back in her seat and this time Marcus followed her by sitting down right next to her. So close that if she moved just a little she could easily be in his arms. 'That would feel so nice right now,' she felt safe beside him and she had no doubt that he would give her any comfort she sought.

'What are you thinking, you idiot? He just ripped the head off of like it was nothing,' she quickly berated herself. She sat more rigid and did everything in her power to calm her heart. “Can he still hear,” Amara almost felt weird for asking.

Aro was the one to answer with a yes adding, “And see.”

“That's unnerving,” she thought out loud. The soft twinge of flush had risen to her cheeks again when she realized she voiced the thought.

“Would you like us to cover his dead,” Marcus asked from beside her.

'Yes,' her mind screamed, but her lips said, “No, i-it's fine.”

She stayed silent a moment her thoughts of the last few minutes had her rattled to the core. Amara could have died and she didn't really care about that. What worried her was anything happening to Luke. She couldn't let that beast near him. Ever. Her eyes closed to stop any tears from forming as she mustered the courage to speak. “Please do not harm my friend. He was just trying to protect me,” through speaking she raise her head that had been tucked and opening her watery eyes to look deeply into Aro's then Marcus' before settling on the eyes of Caius' in the chair, “If a-anything were to h-happen to him I would j-just..” 'Die,' her mind echoed.

“So you do care for him,” Aro stated. Amara gave her reply with a short nod of her head not trusting her voice. “Hmm, I see no problem with this. Though it is not pleasing to know one's mate loves someone else.”

“I didn't say anything about lo-,” Aro cut her off with just a flick of the wrist, raising his hand slightly. “You didn't have to say anything,” he began before shifting his head as to look at her better, “It's written on your face, _cara mia_. No sense in lying about it. Caius and I really have no say in who you love considering we have wives.

“As vampires we are animalistic by nature and can be quite,” Aro paused to search for the right word for it, “territorial. When you appeared before Caius, I believe he smelt the scent of your _friend_ and became blinded by the need to begin the mating process. What he didn't account for was for you to disappear after he started the connection and so it has been tormenting him not to have you near him.”

“Wait, so it wasn't Aaron that he was talking about then, It was,” she stopped herself from saying Luke's name. 'No I will not let any information about him slip from my lips,' she vowed. The men shifted at hearing another man in her life. She looked between them before defending herself, “Hey, don't judge me. I have been dealt quite a shit hand in life lately and went on a date. One thing led to another and then that led to mediocre sex. I have no feelings for him whatsoever.”

Amara just felt Aro studying her which made her shift in her seat. She blinked away any unshed tears and sniffled a bit before meeting the gaze of the predator. “Do you ever blink,” she asked, feeling put off with the unending stare.

“It's unnecessary, but I will do it more often if it brings you comfort,” he replied with a blink of his eyes.

“You don't have to. I'm sorry that was rather rude of me,” she bite her lip from her own nerves, “I- so um- you ah- vampires I'm guessing don't have to worry about basic human necessities.”

“That's right, we also don't sleep in coffins or burst into flames while in the sunlight,” Marcus specified, “A stake to the heart doesn't work, garlic doesn't ward us off and holy water is just water.”

“Wow, every stereotype discredited in mere seconds,” she muttered.

“They are in place for a reason,” Aro said.

Amara tried not to stutter so she spoke slowly, “What did you mean by showing you what I meant?”

“Well some vampires are gifted with certain powers. Marcus has the gift of seeing the bonds between people and I happen to be able to see every thought and memory someone's had by touching them,” he explained.

If Amara could scoot away from Aro she would. 'Every thought, every memory.. I don't even want to remember everything I've been through,' panic rose inside her. The things she's tried so hard to bury could be resurfaced by a simple touch by him and that frightened her. Finding her voice and trying to skirt around the whole mind reading topic now, “Does _He_ have a power?”

“Caius,” Aro inquired before assuming that is who she meant, “No she doesn't have one, but he makes up for that with his prowess and intelligence.”

“Mm I'm surprised pretentious isn't on the list,” came her sarcastic remark.

“You ask for us not to judge you and yet you judge us,” Aro said with an eyebrow raised and a neutral mask in place.

She opened her mouth to say something snarky, but stopped herself. 'I'm being a hypocrite,' she concluded. “You got me there, sorry. I'll keep an open mind,” that was the best way she could think of to apologize. Admitting being wrong and then working on changing. Which was easier said than done. Aro seemed to accept what she said for he didn't speak further.

“So mates? I still don't understand how I could have one let alone three? It doesn't make sense to me,” she started rambling. That generally began when she started to get tired.

Marcus was the one that took the lead on this, “It's not as uncommon as one would think. Though this is the first one I've heard of happen for quite some time. As to why you, I don't know. I don't control fate.”

“Could this be the reason my skin feels like it's burning when people touch me in a more than friendly way,” she pondered to the two men who could speak.

“So you're being affected by the bond as well,” Aro stated curiously before questioning, “Do you feel a pull towards us now?”

To which Amara replied with a nod of her head feeling like a bobblehead at this point in time, “It's hard to describe.” The need to be surrounded by them, people she had no inkling about, and to submit flared through her body, but her brain that was slowly coming through the fog was the reasonable one in this by being rational. These were hauntingly beautiful creatures that kill humans to survive and she was no more than a rib-eye to them. “So if I'm to believe that what I'm feeling is because y'all are my, what, soulmates? What comes next? Will I ever be allowed a choice in who I am with or is it all just decided for me?”

“I guess that is something we would all have to discuss, but speaking for myself, I would want no other but you,” Marcus leaned down to her ear to say this barely above a whisper causing her to shudder from the feeling of him so close to her, “That doesn't mean I would deny you the pleasure of another.”

Amara's head turned toward Marcus, her lips only a small distance away from his. His breath smelt of mint and something almost metallic. If she were to lean just enough she could easily capture his plump-, 'Stop! Do not pass go! Do not collect two hundred dollars! What are you thinking,' she stopped herself from giving in to her desire to kiss the stranger.

“I can't speak for Caius,” Aro drew her attention away from Marcus, “But I will say I do love my wife. We have been together for quite some time now. It would be hard to suddenly just stop all of my feelings toward her, so believe me when I tell you I have some understanding of what you must feel.”

The throbbing behind her eyes and from her arm were making it hard for Amara to concentrate on the conversation at hand. She leaned back in the seat she currently occupied, holding an almost completely melted ice pack on her arm instead of rubbing the temples of her head. Enormous amounts of information just kept rushing from between them that had caused her the current discomfort.

“If I let you touch me and you see everything, can I trust you to not repeat what you see to anyone,” she probed after a silence had settled over them.

He placed his hand over his heart, “I swear to you on my immortal life that I will not utter a word unless you ask me to.”

'Why am I even entertaining this idea of letting him know me in such an intimate way? Hell Luke is the one person that knows the most, but even he doesn't know all of my dark secrets?'

'You're _entertaining_ the idea because there is a part of you that already trusts these men and that frightens you,' egged the voice inside her head.

'Do you exist to torment me,' she began to question her own sanity when she heard laughter followed by a yes.

She raised her right hand away from her injured one offering it wordlessly to the man across the way. He was by her unoccupied side in an instant his hands hesitant to hold on to the offered hand. Aro looked to her as if to get confirmation once more which she gave verbally this time. “You may touch me,” her voice softened.

As soon as his icy touch encompassed her hand her mind was no longer under her control. She could feel his presence there filtering through the disorganized files of her mind. While Aro went from memory to memory, Amara sat back and watched her life as if it were on a theater screen. Moments of pure joy such as the times she spent with her sister as children making mud pies, taking spontaneous picnics consisting of shortbread cookies and water, or just exploring the pasture of their parents farm. Moments of utter sorrow like the nights she'd cry herself to sleep from being unwanted by her biological parents, the time of her mothers passing, or the many times she had been just inches away from taking her own life.

Those moments didn't hurt as badly as she thought as she re-watch her life. It was until he came across the memories she'd locked away did she struggle. Her first sexual encounter played before her eyes. It wasn't a pleasant affair, but she had resigned long ago that she had asked for it. She sought out the man that was seven years older than herself at fourteen. She practically all but begged to be loved by him because the need to feel wanted by someone had been overpowering at that time in her life.

Amara didn't know what she was asking for and didn't know what being with him would demand from her. Aro could sense her distress at this memory so he quickly moved from it only to stumble upon the worse parts. It was the memory of when the man had forced her into agreeing to be shared among his friends. Aro had been trying to stay passive while inside her mind, but watching what had happened to his mate caused his venom to boil. He could practically feel the fear that permeated from her, and all he wanted to do was curl her up into his arms and never let her leave.

Moving quickly through each nightmare inducing memory he found a few that were odd. He came across a memory of her being chased down by something he didn't know and the only thoughts in her mind at the time were run and don't get caught. The small child set a fast pace as she ran across concrete sidewalks barefooted. Any chance she could take to turn she did trying to throw whatever was on her tail off of it. It wasn't till she found a good enough hiding place did she stop moving. Her hands clasped over her mouth to quieten her breathing and the only thing that moved was her little torso from the heavy breathing she was doing.

It was then when Aro turned his gaze from her to whomever or whatever was chasing her. To his surprise he saw two men at the edge of the alley that she hid. Upon closer inspection something seemed off about the two. Though the outfit they wore said police their manner spoke differently. They were common street thugs parading around in costume. If Aro's heart could beat it would be hammering now. His attention turned back to the small child, who was desperately trying to keep quiet. The panicked thoughts of wanting to go home, why was she here and how could this be happening plagued her mind.

As the two men crept down the dark alley saying lewd things about the child before calling for her to come out. Aro was happy to see that they were having a hard time finding the little mouse. He already had a few humans on his list to kill now and he wouldn't be against adding two more to it. They passed the trash can she hid behind which caused relief to wash over not only past Amara, but him as well. It was then that he saw her close her eyes and wish for home once more before disappearing and reappearing in, what he'd guess, was her room.

The poor girl shot from her bed gasping for air, shaking from what she had just experienced. “It wasn't real,” he heard her mumble over and over again while she rocked back and forth, her knees drawn up to her chest in a fetal position. He stayed in this memory longer than he intended, but his thirst to know everything held him there. It wasn't till she rocked herself to sleep and that she stayed asleep did the memory end.

He didn't very much like this section of her mind filled with all the traumatic experiences of her short life. Instead of torturing his host further by looking as deeply into her past he decided to stop playing around and read at his normal rapidness at the cost of causing Amara's headache to worsen. 'It needed to be done,' was his excuse for hurting her, but the pang of guilt within his chest told him it still didn't sit right with him.

When he was up to the present day events he felt satisfied with the information though a little perturbed. His eyes opened to the tear stained face of the woman whose presence sung to him. He removed one hand from hers and placed in on her face to catch a few tears before they fell. “You are one of the most courageous and strong humans I've ever had the pleasure to meet, _cara mia_ ,” his tone was gentle as to not scare her off.

Amara tried stopping herself from leaning into his touch but failed miserably. There was a reason she had kept from letting herself remember, a reason why she did certain things to repress everything, and it was because if she didn't she wouldn't be able to live with herself. Wouldn't be able to live with the fact that everything that has happened to her was always her fault.

'Well it is your fault, every last bit of it,' came the maniacal side of her. Always fueling the darkness inside her.

'No! That's not true.'

'Yes it is. Look around you Amarantha, who do you have in your life? Everyone you knew became wise to who you really are and left long ago.'

'I have Luke,' she defended.

'Until he opens his eyes and sees what everyone else did. A pathetic weak excuse of a woman who plays victim all the time,' the voice knew exactly where to stab her.

'You're wrong,' she began to grow small within, 'He loves me.'

'He loves how easy you are. I mean look at you now. Three strangers that are his mortal enemies are mated to you and you're here like a common tramp throwing yourself at them. What would Luke think? Tsk, Tsk,' the knife twisting further in.

'I'm not throwing mysel-'

'But you want to. You already had one and I know you want the others. Don't lie, I know you. I _am_ you.'

'Please, just stop,' she pleaded.

'Only when you admit that I'm right,' the voice demanded.

'You're right,' Amara defeated internally, 'Now please leave me alone.'

Aro still touching her face heard the inner struggle. “No, you're wrong,” he said, not willing to stay silent, “You're not pathetic or weak. From what I have seen you haven't been a whore or playing victim. You are a victim. Just because you sought out love and comfort doesn't excuse that scum from taking advantage of an already hurt individual. You didn't ask for your _dreams_ nor did you ask for the traumas they led to.

“I've seen people throw themselves at us before and you're not one of them. You punched a vampire in the face. Granted that wasn't a bright idea, but you didn't let yourself get taken advantage of. Also your _friend_ would be an idiot to stop loving you because of this. I also doubt that he would based on what I saw.

“You will not listen to that side of yourself and give up so easily. That is the disease speaking, not you. You are not your illness. Amarantha, look at me,” he said to her as her eyes had drifted downward. When she met his new tears sprung from her eyes, “Repeat after me, 'I am strong and I am a survivor.'”

She did as he asked though meekly, “I am strong and I am a survivor.”

“Now say it like you mean it.”

Could she mean it? Could she even believe it? Many years of therapy had never helped, so how could this man do it within minutes? How could she trust this vampire who now knew her so well so easily? Was it because of the bond that they supposedly share? So many questions still swirled around her head till she got stuck on one thing. He knew everything and was not repulsed with her. He wasn't looking at her with pity. His eyes shined with unspoken admiration and something she wasn't entirely sure of. Maybe one day she could see what he saw, but for now she would just have to try.

Amara inhaled a deep breath before speaking with conviction, “I am strong and I am a survivor.”

“Good,” he leaned forward and pressed a light kiss to her forehead. When he pulled back Amara caught the crooked grin on his face causing her cheeks to turn pinker. “I think it's time we take you to the hospital and get your arm taken care of, wouldn't you agree, Marcus?”

Amara tensed slightly having forgot that there were technically other people besides her and Aro inside the room. She turned to look at Marcus with her damped eyes to see him faintly smiling at them. “Yes, but I fear we must do something with Caius first.”

She turned to the head that had sat in the chair this whole time with a frown on her face. “How do you go about reattaching heads anyways?”

“We simply put it back on the body though it will take some time for it to fully reconnect,” Aro replied nonchalantly.

“I don't like the idea of leaving him here in such a vulnerable state,” Marcus weighed in.

“I trust Carlisle wouldn't let anything happen to him.”

“But what of the rest of the coven,” Marcus pressed.

Amara sat there between the two men looking at the head in front of her. 'I can't just let him be defenseless,' came her heart

'Yes you can. He tried killing you,' her brain fought back.

'It's not his fault,' the overly sensitive organ justified, 'He couldn't control whatever was/is inside him. Let's give him a chance to show who he is.'

She released an audible sigh before suggesting something she might regret. “Y'all could always come to my place. It's definitely not as nice or big as this place, but if y'all are worried about him being around others it's just me that lives there,” her right hand came to the back of her neck to rub it from her nerves. 'What am I doing,' wondering why she just invited vampires to stay in her trailer.

Aro's smile just grew wider, “How could we refuse such an offer?”


End file.
